Star Heroes vs The Forces of Evil
by Parent12D
Summary: After Ludo comes out of a 5-month retirement from evil, Star, Marco, and Andrew along with 9 other heroes that make up three other teams of three go on a quest through several dimensions while chasing after the Avarian who is planning on conquering the universe in 3 days from now, while the 12 unlikely heroes are unaware of what is really going on in the shadows.
1. Start of a New Journey

**Alright readers, after spending a whole week preparing notes for this story, I am finally ready to get this second story of SVTFOE into action. **

**Now first of all, as I said in my profile, this story will take place 5 months after 'The Retribution and Star's Evil Twin'. If you haven't already, I'd recommend that you read that story first so there's no confusion. **

**Also, this story will be written similarly to the first story I did, but this story is focused on only four teams all at once. If you're all wondering, it'll be like chapters 7 and 16 at the parts where it switched from Star to Nebula and back again periodically, except this will be done more frequently, excluding this chapter of course. **

**Another thing, except for this chapter, there will be no author's note given at the beginning of the chapter, and the author notes at the end will be brief and short unless I have to explain to you guys. **

**Lastly, this story will have more references to the show, better use of dimension traveling, more characters featured, and the stuff that was a problem with the first story will be absent such as Janna scavenging for treasure and Marco riding in a vehicle. Marco won't be in a vehicle this story; he'll be able to fight with his karate moves while this story will be inspired by Sonic Heroes as I said in my profile. I'm making these changes so the story could be better than the first, so I hope you understand.**

**Well with all that said and done, I think it's time to get this story started. So without further ado, here is the story, and I hope you enjoy it, everyone!**

**DISCLAIMER: All the rights to the characters of SVTFOE are owned by the creator Daron Nefcy, and the Disney Corporation.**

* * *

**PROLOGUE-START OF A NEW JOURNEY:**

**AT LUDO'S CASTLE:**

Ludo Avarius, commonly known as Ludo by those who know him, had just gotten done with sealing up something in his _top-secret_ closet as the Avarian wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

"Whew, that was quite a hassle," Ludo panted as he closed the top-secret closet and inputted a pass-code to enter so no intruders could get in. "Who would have thought that one of the _only _robots that I built during my spare time would have gone haywire like that?"

That's right; during his spare time, Ludo had felt like building himself a robot minion. Taking a page from _St. Olga_ and the guards of _that school_, Ludo had constructed a robot with a robotic heart, except this one doesn't explode when pulled out and tossed. The robotic heart was put into the chest compartment and sealed shut. The robot was also given a color scheme to match his trademark colors.

Originally, the robot minion was created for Ludo to create the ultimate fighting robot and killing machine to assist him when danger occurs. Unfortunately, because he was _new _with the concept since he never built a robot minion before, the robot proved to be overpowered and deemed _too dangerous _for him to handle. As a result, he then assigned the robot a new task by having _him_ remain in the top-secret room and guard a single capsule that was in there. The capsule in question contained a certain _someone _that one of Ludo's monsters found in the woods behind his castle. Since the person was in a coma, Ludo felt this robot had to be kept in a capsule and locked in his top-secret closet with the robot minion assigned in there to guard it.

Once he wiped his forehead and again and sighed, Ludo walked off and retreated to his throne room and onto his chair that had a bunch of pillows stacked up for him to sit on.

"Well, I guess it's about time I give up on constructing a robot minion for my army," Ludo made himself comfy. "And that robot minion I put in that closet is not going _anywhere_ anytime soon, that's for sure."

Ludo then took out several blueprints he had that contained the works of a brand of androids that he had wanted to develop, but after the hassle he had with the robot he built, he decided to discontinue the idea. As such, he crumbled up the blueprints and tossed them into a nearby bin that was used for garbage. Ludo just sat there and started to think to himself.

It has been 5 months since he has done anything drastically evil, and the last time he did anything seriously dangerous was during the Space Colony GOD scenario. His mind started to wander back to that point in time and remembered a lot of the stuff that occurred: Nebula Dragonfly, the Galactic Cannon, his grandfather Gudo Avarius, and his cousin Victoria. In the end, Ludo had realized that his grandfather, whom he admired during his early years and from that time, was revealed to have gone _insane_ when his granddaughter was killed and had wanted to implode the entire universe. Not even Ludo dreamed of having the universe be blown up and destroy everyone in plain sight.

Ludo hasn't seen or spoken to Star Butterfly or any of her friends in months. The last person Ludo spoke to among that group was with Marco when they were departing from the Space Colony. After he shared with the karate boy about his childhood and his dreams, they had headed back to the desert dimension. Ludo had gotten out his dimension scissors and cut open a portal where his giant spider and eagle entered as he proceeded to follow. He remembered the last comment he exchanged to Marco when the Latino asked him a question.

"_Hey Ludo, where are you going," he asked the Avarian as he stepped into the portal and looked at him with determined eyes. _

"_Next time I come up with something like **this**, I won't get any help from __**anyone**__," the Avarian told him. "I'll use my power to take over the universe! Just you wait and see." _

_And he stepped into the portal which vanished, leaving Marco standing there to think to himself._

However, despite that comment that he gave to him, he had _no_ motivation to carry out any type of evil plot that he could unleash on the universe. Long story short, Ludo had seemingly _retired_ from evil and has not committed any evil crimes of the sort.

So nowadays, Ludo would often spend his time at the castle doing stuff such as watching TV, playing basketball with his brother Dennis, having his monsters put on a dinner and a show, and even had himself and his monsters put on a _personal_ circus performance in his castle for entertainment and enjoyment.

In his spare time during the past 5 months, Ludo had constructed another robot before the one he stuffed into the closet. In a pitiful attempt to commit some sort of evil crime, which was to no avail, Ludo was inspired by how Nebula was at odds against Star until she had a change of heart, to create a robot that was modeled after Star and was designed to look like a robotic version of the Mewni princess. He had sent this robot out to eliminate Star a couple of times without her noticing it was his doing, but because he isn't used to creating a robot, the drone had a bunch of bugs and glitches in its system, combined with the fact that whenever this creation came in Star's path, she would overtake it and defeated it like it was nothing. This led to Ludo believing that the robot was considered to be a defect and as such, he gave up on its purpose and put it in the containment capsule that was placed right behind his throne chair, where it stood in there, waiting for the right moment to strike back.

In addition to that, Ludo and his monsters came across an entire fleet of abandoned battleships that he had redesigned to resemble various birds. But because he had no further use for them, he had them kept underground right underneath his castle where they stayed there for safekeeping.

Well, Ludo didn't have a use for them, but _someone _else did.

A pair of red eyes that came from the containment behind his throne chair started to flash, feeling this was the right opportunity to seize the chance. The robot that was in there was treated as some sort of science experiment while the Avarian in front of it was not even _trying_ to commit an evil deed. Even though it couldn't comprehend emotions, the robot felt nothing but infuriation and rage, since this wasn't how it was supposed to be treated, and now action was going to be taken not only against Ludo but the rest of the universe and especially to the girl it was modeled after; Star.

Ludo remained completely oblivious to the droid's planning as he was lost in thought. Perhaps maybe it could be a good time where he could become a better person and do things for good. It would have been a lot better than being thwarted by the butterfly princess time after time.

"You will do as _I_ say!" A cold mechanical voice spoke out of nowhere.

Ludo snapped out of his thoughts and turned around the room to see who that was. Seeing that there was no one in there and seeing that the android in the containment was just standing there motionless, Ludo shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing.

"Oh well, it must be the _bugs_ that are still programmed in the creation."

Then a shatter was heard from it as it caused glass from the containment to scatter in all directions of the room. This impact was enough to send Ludo flying off of his chair and landed onto the floor. When he looked up, he saw that the creation from the capsule had broken free and was approaching the Avarian, planning on handling things the way they should have been handled.

"What do you think you're doing," Ludo hissed, hiding the fact that his own heart was beating at a fast rate.

The robot seized the chance and grabbed the nearest chair near the table and tossed it in the direction that Ludo was in. Ludo managed to duck the incoming chair but it did break upon hitting the wall, causing him to jump. As Ludo rolled under the table, the robot dangerously approached him before stumbling on the blueprints in the bin. Feeling that Ludo had no use for them, the robot decided to take possession of them and use them for the plan that it came up with. Processing this and some other pieces of papers that Ludo had lying around, the robot was planning something big, and it wasn't pretty based on its glowing red eyes.

"I'll ask you again; what are you doing!?" Ludo barked from under the table as the robot bent over to his height.

"I _refuse _to standby in that capsule any longer," the robot spoke in a metallic manner. "You have treated me as nothing more but a science experiment and _you_ have kept me sealed up long enough!"

"I have no further use for you! You are _defected_," Ludo snarled. "You should be lucky that I haven't turned you into scrap!"

"Or _stuff _me into a closet."

"That _robot _betrayed me!"

"As have I, _ex-master_ Ludo Avarius."

The robot proceeded to fire a red laser towards the Avarian, which caused him to feel a sharp and undeniable pain throughout his veins. The robot unleashed every single ounce of wrath flowing throughout its wires and circuits.

"You call yourself a ruler of this pathetic army you're running? I spit at you for your pitiful attempts at being a worthy ruler of your monsters," the droid continued to sneer. "All the potentiality and raw power you have in your possession being wasted because you are a horrible leader!"

"W-What's that suppose to mean," Ludo stuttered as the robot grabbed him by the front of his cloak.

"It means that you are no longer the _ruler_ of this army since _I'll_ be the one taking control of your army," the robot blared. "I will take over the universe and dispose of Star Butterfly, like what should have happened _long ago_! And I have processed the perfect plan to make that into a reality, and the first step is disposing of _you!_"

"You think you can control my army better than me," Ludo snapped. "What makes you think you'll do a better job at leading my army than me!?"

Without a word, the robot dragged Ludo down the hall and opened up another closet where the robot tossed him into.

"Let's see how you like being cooped up in a tight spot without being given further instructions," the creation sneered.

Ludo couldn't believe it. This was just like the time where Toffee convinced his monsters to overthrow him and kick him out of the castle. Except for this time, it was by one of the two creations he made and he was being locked up in a closet. Ludo was beyond shocked as he then shouted.

"Wait, you can't do_ this_," he begged. "Those are _my_ monsters! That is _my_ army!"

With a cold flashing glare, the robot shook its head.

"Not…_anymore_," the android blared coldly. "And by the way, you won't need _this_ anymore."

The robot showed the dimension scissors in its hands as it planned on keeping Ludo locked up in that closet what it got its plan underway.

With a snap, the robot summoned two muscular monsters who restrained the giant spider and the eagle in their grasps, knowing that they would aid Ludo in his time of need. Tossing both of them into the closet with Ludo, the muscular monsters dusted their hands off as the robot then slammed the closet door shut and locked it from the inside.

Ludo shook off his head as he looked at his comrades and wondered how he was going to get them out of this mess. In the corner, he found two walkie talkies that still worked. It was then a plan formulated in his mind.

"Hold up girls, I think I have a plan on how to get _us_ out of this mess," Ludo grabbed both of the talkies and showed it to them. "But the plan I have in mind is _very __**risky**_. I just hope that it works."

And thus Ludo began a plan to send one of the talkies out to an agency that could rescue him. He just hoped that this plan would work…

* * *

**ON EARTH – NEAR THE PIER IN ECHO CREEK:**

On the bench that was near the pier in Echo Creek, we see a nerdy girl who was sitting there with the newspaper in her hand that she picked up. The girl was known as StarFan13 but had been also known as Daron. Adjusting her glasses, she looked at the newspaper for the umpteenth time. But what caught her attention with it was the photo that was on the front cover. While there was someone that was caught running off with a gold medallion on a chain necklace, and an orange color seashell necklace, she noticed the person stealing them was vaguely shown as Star Butterfly. The problem with that is that the person who was running was too blurry as were the things she was stealing. All she could make out was the long blonde hair and her backside. Though she saw the seashell necklace from somewhere before (not being able to remember where precisely), the medallion necklace didn't look familiar to her at all.

"Oh, I wonder where Star is…" The fan of Star's sighed sadly.

It had been 5 months since she saw Star. The last time she saw her was when they left the space colony GOD and they all split up to their respective homes. Since then, it was clear that Star vanished without a trace. She missed her; she missed her idol so much. She just wanted nothing more than to see Star again in person. The picture in the newspaper did give her some leads that she's out there somewhere, but there was no information as to where she was heading.

Sighing in forlorn again, she put the paper down on her lap and just sat there, thinking about the possibilities.

She was completely oblivious to a portal opening up nearby as someone came out of the portal in a panic. Daron didn't notice until the moment where the person then flew on over and collided with the nerdy girl, causing her to fall onto the floor with her newspaper.

When she saw who had just knocked into her, she recognized who it was. The person in question was known as Princess Lilacia Pony Head but preferred to be called Pony Head as Star calls her that. Pony Head was shown to be a literal head of a unicorn without a body, hooves or tail. Instead, she just had light blue fur, a magenta-colored mane, teal eyes with gold stars for pupils, and a teal striped horn. On each side of her neck, there is a pink heart, and sparkles and glitter were falling out of the bottom of her neck, an indication that showed she could fly. Pony Head was widely known as a party pony and Star's best friend on Mewni, and Daron recognized her from those times they hung out together.

As Daron sat back up, Pony Head realized her mistake and then spoke.

"Oh, hey Daron gurl, I'm _so_ sorry that I ran into you like that," she spoke in a girly fashion. "But I'm in a hurry and I'm looking for something important, you know."

Daron shook her head and tried to get the floating unicorn head to calm down.

"Whoa, calm down a minute Pony Head," Daron assured her. "Now tell me what has gotten you all riled up?"

"Well, I was just enjoying myself like I normally do, but I then noticed that my precious belonging has been stolen, so I'm on the lookout for it!" It was clear that Pony Head was desperate as rainbow-colored tears dripped down her eyes.

"Now hold up a minute Pony Head," Daron asked. "What is it that you're looking for?"

"Well…it's a medallion," she told her. "It's not hard to miss, but it's one of a kind, and its color coated gold and it's attached to a chain necklace. That medallion means the world to me, Daron!"

It was then it clicked in Daron's mind as she figured it out.

"Wait up Pony Head, I think I know what _you're_ talking about," she picked up the newspaper.

"You do?"

"Yes, look at the front page for yourself."

As Pony Head saw the front page of the newspaper, she saw the medallion that she was looking for.

"Ah-ha, there's the medallion," she cried out. "That's the one!"

"And from what I can make out vaguely, it looks like Star Butterfly has possession of it."

"Okay, but where is B-Fly," she wondered. "If you must know Daron, I haven't heard from or seen _her_ in five months."

"Same here, and I wish I had the answer to that," Daron sighed. "But this newspaper doesn't have any information that could lead us to Star and your medallion."

"Well that totally sucks," Pony Head huffed. "At least I know that Star has possession of it."

"Yes, but now we need to figure out how to find her."

"I know," the floating unicorn head groaned. "But where do you think B-Fly ran off to with my medallion?"

Daron didn't know the answer to that since she rubbed her chin while Pony Head scrunched her face to think for a minute.

As they did that, someone else skateboarded past them who was on the look for something too. This caught both of their attention as they recognized who just passed them. The girl riding the skateboard was revealed to be Jackie Lynn Thomas. Jackie was shown to have tan skin, shoulder-length platinum light blonde hair with an aqua streak on the left side, and she has three freckles on both of her cheeks. Because she had aged two years, while her body and bust were curvy back then, it was even bustier to look at now. She had on a green and white raglan shirt, cyan jean shorts, green and white knee socks, and blue and white sneakers. Normally she would have had an orange color seashell necklace on the front, but she didn't have it on and it was assumed that she was looking for it.

Truth be told, she had spent her time skateboarding when she wasn't hanging out with Marco. All those times that she spent with Marco were enjoyable experiences. She even found out that Star had gone missing for 5 months, to the point where the skateboarder girl _still_ went to support_ him_ in hope that she'll return.

Daron and Pony Head recognized her since she went to the same sleepover at Star's house that one time with that weird cube box thing that trapped them.

"Oh, Daron is that who I think it is," Pony Head started.

"It is, that's Jackie Lynn Thomas," Daron answered. "The _coolest_ girl in Echo Creek and is the same girl that went to the same sleepover we went to at Star's house when _we_ were trapped by that Truth or Punishment box."

"Oh yes, I remember that freckled-faced skateboard girl," Pony Head remarked. "But anyway, what is _she_ doing here?"

"I don't know but by the looks of it, it looks like she's looking for something."

"What do you think she's looking for?"

"Only one way to find out," Daron looked determined. "Let's go find out for ourselves."

"I'm way ahead of you, gurlfriend."

Both of them decided to find out what Jackie was looking for while Daron kept the newspaper in her possession.

Jackie was still riding on her skateboard and skimming the ground on both sides, and wouldn't have stopped if she didn't hear a voice behind her.

"Hey Jackie, wait up a moment!"

She turned and saw Daron and Pony Head heading for her and stopped. She knew them from that sleepover they went to once and she faced them. While maintaining her stoic yet chill expression, she smiled.

"Oh, hey Daron, and Pony Head," the skateboard girl greeted them. "Listen, I'd love to chat but I'm in the middle of looking for something."

"Well, what are you looking for Jackie gurl," Pony Head asked. "It just so happens that _I'm_ looking for something too."

"Pony Head's right," Daron agreed. "Just tell us what you're looking for and we can help you."

Jackie sighed and decided to tell them.

"Okay, well do you two dudettes notice that I'm not wearing my seashell necklace," she asked them, resulting in them nodding. "Well, _that's_ what I'm looking for."

"And what color was it again if I may ask?" Pony Head interrogated as Daron had this funny feeling what color it was.

"It's colored orange, and it's not hard to miss."

It snapped in Daron's head and she remembered it.

"I remember now Jackie," Daron got her attention. "I have a newspaper that has an article with a photo that might just be your necklace."

"Oh, uh may I see it?"

"Sure thing," Daron took it out and showed her the photo on the paper and looked at it. She then saw the seashell necklace for herself.

"Oh yeah, _that's_ my seashell necklace," the skateboarding girl remarked.

"And the person in the picture vaguely represents Star Butterfly."

"And she also has mah medallion too gurl!"

"Okay, so that's a start," Jackie nodded. "But where is Star located? From what I know from Marco, Star had disappeared without a trace for five months."

"We know," both Daron and Pony Head said together.

The three of them stood there to think for a minute when Daron came up with a brilliant idea.

"Hey, I have just the perfect idea," Daron announced. "Perhaps the three of us can form a team so we can look for the medallion and seashell necklace together. What do you say about that?"

"Hmm, a team huh," Pony Head thought about it. "I guess it would be a great idea for the three of us to form a team to find our stuff. After all, I've been dying to see B-Fly again, and I would _love_ to speak to her."

"Yeah, I think the three of us teaming up together would be radical," Jackie picked up her skateboard and pocketed it. "I'd love it."

"Then it's settled," Daron pocketed the newspaper so they can use it for reference later on. "We shall head out and find the stuff that you're looking for."

"Allow me to do the honor," Pony Head got out her dimension scissors for this occasion. "We will travel into another dimension to find B-Fly, and I know just the perfect place for us to start."

She cut open a portal as she then directed her team.

"Well cmon you two, mah medallion ain't getting any younger," Pony Head sassed. "We gotta get a move on."

"Of course, let's shove off," Daron smiled with her braces showing.

"I'm way ahead of you Daron and Pony Head," Jackie grinned. "Let's rock."

The three of them then entered the portal and traveled to another dimension to start their search, as the newly formed team called Team Sparkle had started their journey…

* * *

**BACK IN LUDO'S CASTLE:**

In the corridor of Ludo's castle where the top-secret closet was located, there was nothing in sight except for a dimensional portal that appeared overhead. Emerging from the portal and landing on the ground by her feet was revealed to be Janna Ordonia. The Filipino had a wardrobe change to her outfit. Rather than the outfit she normally wears, she was donning a black color spy uniform with a skull-shaped buckle on the front where her skin is showing from her chin to the mid-center part of her breast. She kept her barf green beanie on though since that was her prized possession. After the events that took place 5 months ago on the Space Colony GOD, Janna had been taking a break since she felt impacted by the death of Nebula. She still remembered the moment when it was revealed she died and Star gave her those gold bracelets. To occupy her time, she had gone back to admiring the occult, looking into macabre originated topics, and had caused several mischievous pranks. Aside from going to another dimension where she constantly pranked a certain treasure hunter she liked, leaving him notes that let him know of her affection for him, she hung out occasionally with some of her friends, such as Hope Hadley and Leah, and often with Jackie and Marco, but other than that, it didn't feel the same as it did when she hung out with Nebula 5 months ago. Combined with the fact that Star had disappeared without a trace, what else was she supposed to do? She also started to become irresponsible and inattentive with her spy duties, but she did give the excuse that she just needed a break from it all. It wasn't the same anymore.

She took out the gold bracelets she got from 5 months prior and looked at them for a minute with a sad look in her eyes. She then shook it off as she put them back into her pocket. To get her mind back into things, she went back to doing the thing she loved best; finding supernatural artifacts and claiming them.

Janna had heard the rumors of Ludo owning a secret supernatural artifact that was located in his castle, which was being held in a top-secret closet.

And it was going to be hers.

Typing in a passcode that she stole from Ludo, she caused the closet door to open as she waved her hand in front of her face and entered the closet.

"Alright, this must be it," she smirked. "I found Ludo's secret supernatural artifact!"

What was in front of her was a capsule that was filled with green liquid and had someone contained in it. Janna felt like it was something worth checking out as she approached the capsule and started to press in code to the keyboard in front of it.

What she wasn't aware of was the fact that two glowing red eyes were activated in the shadows of the room as two mechanical stomps were heard. The being that was standing in the shadows was identified as a tall robot with a yellow-green top, red eyes on a black lens, a bulky looking body that's colored green, two shoulder pads colored yellow, legs connected to a torso, two arms with two robotic claws, that also come equipped with missiles, arsenals, and other weaponry choices, a jet boost servo on both sides of the torso, a hover boost on the back of the shoulders, a skull buckle on the front torso, and some text on the left side of his chest that said _L-020_. There was also a symbol on the right shoulder blade, but it was too dark to make out.

Once Janna had pressed in some keys, the green liquid started draining and the person was revealed to be the last person Janna expected to see again. It was shown to be Nebula Dragonfly who had her eyes closed. This caused Janna to gasp in a shocking state. It didn't take long for Nebula to flash open her red-colored eyes and see what was around her.

The moment the capsule opened did the robot started to open fire, destroying everything in the room. Sensing the danger, Nebula tackled Janna to the ground to get her out of harm's way. Nebula gently patted her onto the ground and then spoke in a whisper.

"Stay here."

Nebula then jumped away from her as Janna then whimpered.

"N-Nebula…?"

Janna then noticed the robot that was firing away in the room and that he had his sights set on Nebula. Janna was confused but couldn't speak due to the shock that surrounded her. Nebula had bounced swiftly from corner to corner, dodging all the ammunition that was aimed at her and was planning to strike back.

"**MUST ANNIHILATE ALL LUDO'S MINIONS!" **The robot bellowed as he kept firing away at Nebula. This got Janna confused by what the robot was _blaring _about.

"Huh?"

Nebula found a clear spot to attack the killer robot that was on a war-path and jumped to charge at him.

Janna saw that Nebula and the killer robot that was identified as Upsilon due to the 'ϒ' symbol on his right shoulder pad were about to _kill _each other. Fearing that this could turn _ugly_, Janna got in between them and broke it up.

"Hey, hold up a minute!" She stopped both of them. It was more pressure than she could handle. As such, she panted and caught her breath while the tension in the room simmered down a bit.

**A FEW MINUTES LATER…**

Janna then heard the explanation from both Upsilon and Nebula as she was still wrapping her head around it. She sat on a platform above and stared at them.

"Okay, now I get it," she concluded. "Now I know what _this_ is all about."

She directed her attention towards Upsilon first.

"You're _mad_ at Ludo for sealing you in this room, right?"

"That would be _accurate_," the robot replied.

"And _you_, you can't remember _anything_, can you," Janna asked Nebula who had amnesia.

"Hmph," Nebula huffed and crossed her arms, which Janna took as a yes.

Even though Nebula was back surprisingly, she had no memory, so Janna had a plan. She was going to help Nebula reclaim her memory and help Upsilon get to Ludo to unleash his revenge.

"Alright, then it's settled," she jumped down and got the amnesiac girl and killer robot to join hands. "Now the two of you shall make up so we can search for Ludo together."

Once she got both of their hands together, she placed her hand on top and thus forming a team of her own.

"Alright dudes, this makes _us_ a team," Janna smirked in accomplishment. "We shall be known as Team Dread."

Neither Upsilon nor Nebula objected to that; the former was willing to hunt down Ludo while the latter just couldn't remember anything.

"Okay then, what's your name?" Nebula asked.

"It's Janna."

"Janna, what do you suppose _we_ do now?"

"I'm glad you asked Nebula. I have a pair of dimensional scissors that could _lead_ us straight to Ludo," she got out her dimensional scissors. "And I know the best place for us to start too."

She cut open a portal and directed her new comrades to the portal.

"Well let's go you two," she directed. "The sooner we get going, the sooner we can catch Ludo."

"Affirmative: I will comply." Upsilon entered the portal.

"Let's get _this_ over with," Nebula said bluntly as she entered the portal too.

Janna then entered it when she realized that since her teammates were an amnesiac Nebula and a killer robot Upsilon, they needed to be broken in. Once she entered, the three of them went through and the portal behind them vanished, leaving the wrecked closet behind them as it was as they started their new quest…

* * *

**IN ANOTHER DIMENSION – IN A HUGE SHACK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST:**

Elsewhere, in the middle of a forest in another dimension, there was a huge shack that served as the main headquarters. The shack was owned by the Demonstrix; which was a trio of three different monsters whose main objective was to serve the community to show that some monsters can be good guys just like anyone else. Having formed over 12 months, the group had been achieving their goal and helping others out there…

…or they would have, but for the past 5 months, they've been nitpicking bones just to land themselves into a job that could help or benefit the community. The reason for them not being able to do so: it turns out Star Butterfly had been helping other people in her absence, thus rendering the Demonstrix into a pickle as the princess of Mewni had taken every single job that they could have accepted. This came as a result of Ludo retiring from evil and Star needing something to do to get her mind off of things. It was clear that they needed some miracle to happen soon, so they just stayed there and waited for someone to come and hire them.

Inside the shack, it looked like a typical office area with a ceiling fan. There were two members of the Demonstrix inside. One of them was kicking back at his desk and listening to the radio. He was revealed to be a frog monster that was known as Yvgent Bulgoyaboff but was often referred to by others as Buff Frog. Buff Frog was shown to be a tall frog monster that was pale green, had yellow eyes, dark green lips, and webbed wings on each side of his head. He has a bulky upper body, but disproportionately short legs that despite the length could jump to an incredible height. He was also wearing a tunic that was light green, and a gray belt with a skull buckle.

Buff Frog was the one who created this group himself. This took place when he had seen his 12 tadpoles; one daughter and eleven sons, growing up into frog monsters. In addition to that, Buff Frog had felt that after he was declared the 'Monster Expert', but ended up leaving the Butterfly castle along with some other monsters, the frog monster came up with the perfect solution on how to show monsters can do good things. So he started the Demonstrix while trying to find two partners for the positions.

Ultimately, he had wanted Boo Fly to join the crew since they were such good friends. Unfortunately, this happened at such a _bad_ time when Boo Fly had become a father himself and now had his children to take care of, so he had to decline the offer. However, he _did_ offer to help him find two potential recruits that could work for him, and he did just that.

One of the people that were recruited for the job was sitting in the corner of the room. The person was revealed to be a demon, and he was often known as Thomas Lucitor, but he prefers to be called Tom. Tom was shown to have spiky salmon-colored hair, very pale lilac skin, three red eyes (one in the middle of his forehead), black eyeliner under and around his eyes, two pale-orange white-tipped horns on the sides of his head, sharp teeth, and pointy ears and nose. For attire, he was shown wearing a red tattered T-shirt with a bright red star within a maroon circle in the center, long dark-red wristbands, maroon ragged shorts, a dark gray studded belt, brown-tipped orange boots, a hoop earring on his right ear, and two studs in his left ear.

After the whole Demoncism ordeal, Tom has been trying _everything _to become a better person and a better prince. It's also revealed that he has been taking meditating lessons to control his anger and it has been doing him some wonders. True he still does get angry on occasions but it's not nearly as _bad_ as it once was, showing he improved in that category. At one point, he had offered to join the Demonstrix as a way to help out the public, and so he could commit his atonement. But what convinced Buff Frog to allow Tom to join was the fact that he said that one time that even though he's a half-monster and a rich monster at that, he is still a monster. These words were more than enough to convince Buff Frog that he had the potential to work for him, so here he was; meditating to himself at the moment.

The other person who works for the Demonstrix was heading right for the shack with some good news for his comrades while carrying a small package in his hands. The person was revealed to be a gargoyle, and his name happens to be Archibald. Archibald was shown with having purple skin, two horns on his head right between his ears, two fangs coming out from his mouth, and had two purple wings on his back that allowed him to fly. For clothes, he was wearing a yellow color suit with a bowtie, dark yellow pants, and brown shoes.

Archibald was suggested by Boo Fly to work for him. While he has worked for Eclipsa as her_ servant_ for years, Archibald wanted to do something more exotic with his life and was thrilled to be able to get the chance to work with Buff Frog and Tom. Even though he can be quite _eccentric_, Buff Frog decided to have him join the crew due to his potentiality as a gargoyle.

As Buff Frog and Tom were doing their stuff, the latter took notice of someone heading for the shack. He looked curious by this but didn't have to think of it sooner since Archibald stormed in with a package in his hands.

"It's here, it's _finally_ here!" Archibald shrieked in excitement as he crashed right into Buff Frog, causing the frog monster to toppled over and yelped with Archibald falling on top of him, losing his grip of the package which was then sent flying.

Tom had witnessed this and had used his telekinetic powers to stop whatever was in the package from falling and breaking. Once it was put onto the desk slowly, Tom released it and sighed in relief.

Buff Frog sat back up as Archibald jumped onto the desk. The frog monster was not pleased with what the gargoyle had just done.

"Vat's wrong with you," Buff Frog grumbled, speaking in that strong Russian accent he's known for.

"It's here Buff Frog, it's here! We've got _work_!" Archibald cheered in delight.

Buff Frog's annoyance had faded as he then guffawed.

"Vat," he yelled in shock.

"Take a look and see for yourself sir," the gargoyle grabbed the package and turned it upside down, causing what was in its fall in Buff Frog's hands, who fumbled with it and preventing it from falling onto the ground. The thing that fell into his hands was a walkie talkie. The talkie was on his lap as a distorted voice was heard on the other line. The voice belonged to their new client.

"Hello, Demonstrix? I've heard _good_ things about you, and I require your detective agent services," the client informed them. "And I can _pay __**handsomely**_**."**

This was enough to get Buff Frog to stand up with the talkie in his hands along with Archibald. This was their first job in months and both of them were eager to accept the job. While the client was giving Buff Frog the location they have to go to, Tom was feeling a little more perplexed. Although he was more than thrilled to have their first job in five months, he couldn't help but notice how their new client was very suspicious. It gave him that funny feeling that something bad will go down upon doing this.

"Hey guys, I got a suspicious feeling about this new job we are accepting." Tom voiced his thoughts.

"Oh come on Tom, don't be ridiculous," Buff Frog assured him. "Besides, you know policy; we never turn down work for our community."

"Yeah, that is_ our_ policy," Archibald stated. "Plus this is the first job that we have been given in five months and we can't turn it down, especially since we're getting _paid_ for this job."

"I guess you have a point." Tom sighed.

"Alright you two, let's go." Buff Frog ordered as he went out the door.

"Yes, sir!" Archibald saluted before flying out after him.

"I'm right behind you." Tom then walked out after them.

Once the Demonstrix were outside, Buff Frog had cut open a dimension portal which led to the first dimension that they were issued to head too. Both Tom and Archibald entered the portal while Buff Frog stared at the sky for a second, seeing that Star hasn't interfered with _this_ job.

"Ya hear that Star!? This is our first job in months, so where are you at!?" He called out to no one in particular.

"Hey Buff Frog, why are _you_ talking to _yourself_," Tom poked his head from the portal and asked him.

Buff Frog didn't answer. Instead, he went into the portal too as it then vanished once they entered the portal, taking on the first job they've been given in months…

* * *

**IN AN ARIZONA-STYLED DESERT DIMENSION:**

Speaking of Star, the princess of Mewni was revealed to be traveling through the Arizona-styled desert by flying all by herself. Her outfit was different this time. She was wearing a teal-colored dress with stripes in violet, orange, peach and purple on the chest, white laces on the bottom, and a white bear face on the left side towards the bottom. She is also described to be wearing pale light sea green and white striped leggings, pink boots with white bunny faces and dark pink bottoms, and a silver bracelet with spikes.

After the Space Colony GOD scenario that happened five months ago, Star had been deeply affected by it and the death of Nebula. Because it _hurt _so much, she had been absent and left _everyone_ without a trace. True she has helped some people on occasions and has seen her parents back at the Butterfly Castle, but other than that, she hasn't spoken to any of her friends, which included Pony Head, Daron, Andrew, and _even_ Marco. The tragic death of Nebula cut deeper into Star's skin than she thought so she had gone missing from her _friends_. Aside from that, Star had heard that Ludo had retired from evil 5 months ago, and while that seemed nice, it left her with almost _nothing_ to do. Perhaps maybe she should return to her friends and start a new adventure.

All of that _was_ going to happen since while Star was soaring through the air with her wings, above her was a red color airplane. The person who was piloting the plane was revealed to be Marco Diaz, who was also accompanied by Andrew Tresor, with his hat and everything. Just the sight of Star was enough for Marco to crack a sincere smile for the first time in months.

"Hey look, it's Star," the Latino pointed. "We've finally found her."

"Well, let's go and get her attention," Andrew suggested in the back.

Nodding his head, the plane descended right towards Star as they were at the same flying level that she was. When Star saw Marco and Andrew on the plane, she couldn't help but grin at them.

"Hey Marco, and Andrew," she greeted. "I haven't seen you guys in months! It's been a long time since we hung out!"

"Hey Star, I think you better check _this_ out," Marco held out a letter that he got for Star to grab.

With one fling, Star grabbed the letter as she read what it said while flying backward the same direction she was forward. The letter had a picture of Ludo on the side which moved and spoke like magic. Ludo on the letter started to speak.

"_Ha ha ha ha ha, guess what Star Heroes? I've finally unraveled the ultimate weapon! In three days, I'll conquer the universe. Think you can stop me? Haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"_

Star didn't frown when the card spoke like this. Instead, she smirked; this was exactly what she needed to do for the first time in months. Aside from that, she didn't see it as threatening and thought of it as something else.

"Well what do you know," she cracked a grin, letting go of the letter while flying forward again. "It looks like an _invitation _to a_ party_."

As the plane and Star started to lower close to the ground, Marco took this threat _seriously_.

"What do you think we should do Star?" He had to know for sure.

Andrew while seeing it as a threat too, felt confident as he decides to assure the Latino that they have this covered.

"No worries, Marco," the treasure hunter assured. "_We've_ got this _one_ covered."

"Yeah, you guys think I'd want to miss out on this," Star cheered as she took to the ground. "It's about time we get that Ludo and split him wide open. Yeah, let's rock and roll and party guys! Let's go as Team Star and start our_ first_ adventure in 5 months!"

"Alright Star!" Marco and Andrew said simultaneously. Marco put the plane in autopilot and directed it to head back to the Earth dimension where it'll land safely at Marco's place. After he did that, he jumped out of the plane along with Andrew as the both of them raced after Star who had taken out her dimensional scissors and cut open a portal. She then entered the portal, with Marco and Andrew entering the portal behind her as it then closed up, as the three of them started their _new_ journey for the first time in months…

* * *

**END OF PROLOGUE!**

**SO THERE YOU HAVE IT! THIS CHAPTER REVEALS ALL THE TEAM MEMBERS AND WHO THEY ARE!**

**NOW I HAVE SOME STUFF I NEED TO SHARE WITH YOU! FIRST OFF, THIS CHAPTER IS PRETTY LONG FOR A FIRST CHAPTER, BUT THAT'S WHY AFTER THIS CHAPTER, THERE WILL BE NO A/N AT THE BEGINNING AND ALL A/N AT THE END WILL BE BRIEF UNLESS I'M GIVING AN EXPLANATION LIKE THIS ONE!**

**SECOND OF ALL, I DECIDED FOR THIS STORY THAT ANDREW TRESOR FROM THE PREVIOUS STORY WILL BE ON TEAM STAR BECAUSE I WANT HIM TO SERVE AS A FOIL TO STAR; WHO WILL ALSO CALL HER OUT WHENEVER SHE DOES ONE OF HER RECKLESS STUNTS. MARCO ON THE OTHER HAND, WILL SERVE AS THE VOICE OF REASON AND THE MEDITATOR BETWEEN THE TWO** **IN THIS STORY, SO THEY WON'T GET AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS! I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE!**

**ALSO, YES, NEBULA RETURNS IN THIS STORY BACK FROM THE DEAD, BUT SHE IS SHOWN TO HAVE AMNESIA. SO WHILE SHE ALREADY HAD AN ESTABLISHED BACKSTORY IN THE FIRST STORY, THIS STORY IS JUST HER RECOVERING SOME OF THE MEMORIES THAT SHE CAN FOR THIS STORY! SPEAKING OF THE TEAM THAT NEBULA IS PART OF, THIS STORY WILL HELP DEVELOP JANNA INTO LEARNING THAT SHE HAS TO STOP BEING IRRESPONSIBLE SINCE SHE'S FORMED A TEAM WITH AN AMNESIAC NEBULA WHO STILL CONTAINS THE ULTIMATE POWER AND A KILLER ROBOT THAT'S THE ULTIMATE FIGHTING MACHINE! BECAUSE OF THIS, BOTH NEBULA AND UPSILON ARE CONSIDERED DANGEROUS TO REGULAR PEOPLE, SO JANNA WILL HAVE TO GROW SOME RESPONSIBILITY IN HER UNLESS SHE _WANTS_ THEM TO KILL INNOCENT LIVES.**

**THEN THERE'S PONY HEAD. IN THE SHOW, SHE'S DEPICTED AS SOMEONE SELFISH, ARROGANT, SELF-CENTERED AND THINKS EVERYTHING IS ABOUT HER; SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE DON'T LIKE ABOUT HER. DON'T WORRY, THIS STORY IS GOING TO CHANGE THAT SO SHE CAN BECOME MUCH NICER AND LEARN THAT IT ISN'T ALWAYS ABOUT HER!**

**AND THEN THERE'S THE REASON WHY I HAD JACKIE JOIN ONE OF THE TEAMS; ONE, JACKIE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS, AND TWO, I FEEL THAT JACKIE WAS SLIGHTLY UNDEVELOPED EVEN WHEN SHE BECAME MARCO'S GIRLFRIEND! THIS STORY IS GOING TO EXPLORE SOME MORE DEPTHS WITH HER LATER ON!**

**AND THEN THERE'S THE DEMONSTRIX, WHOM I WAS INSPIRED TO MAKE FROM THE EPISODE 'ON THE JOB' AS WELL AS OTHER RESEARCH ABOUT MONSTER DISCRIMINATION AND HOW THERE ARE SOME MONSTERS THAT CAN DO GOOD THINGS JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! 'DEMON' IS…WELL, DEMON, THE 'MONST' PART COMES FROM **_**MONST**_**ERS, AND THE 'RIX' PART WAS SOMETHING I JUST ADDED TO IT.**

**AS FOR ARCHIBALD, IN THE SHOW, HE WAS SIMPLY A SATELLITE CHARACTER THAT HAS THE ONLY PURPOSE INTO SERVING ECLIPSA AND HELPS THE HEROES ON OCCASIONS. SO I DECIDED TO HAVE HIM BE GIVEN A MORE IMPORTANT ROLE IN THIS STORY!**

**AS FOR ALL THE OTHER CHARACTERS, THEY WILL BE GIVEN SOME BACK STORIES BEHIND WHY THEY LIKE WHAT THEY DO OR SOME OTHER STUFF! THAT IS A PROMISE!**

**WELL ASIDE FROM THAT, THAT'S ALL I GOT. SO REVIEW IF YOU LIKE UNTIL NEXT TIME! **


	2. Coastal Ruins Dimension I

**CHAPTER 1-COASTAL RUINS DIMENSION I:**

* * *

In a coastal ruins dimension, Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie were the first team to have arrived via dimension portal. Daron, in particular, was on the lookout for Star, Pony Head's Medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace as they were closer to the sea as they trekked along the beach sand, unaware that the other three teams were heading to the same dimension.

All three of them had to admire their surroundings and saw just how majestic and gorgeous the area is around them. Jackie was quite astounded by what she saw.

"Wow dudettes," Jackie took in the fresh coastal air. "This place is so radical. It almost puts me in the mood to go _surfing_ right now if I was able to."

"Yeah, yeah, it's all beautiful and nice, but remember, we are on the lookout for mah_ medallion_ gurl," Pony Head got the skateboarder girl back on track.

"We are also on the lookout for Jackie's seashell necklace too Pony Head," Daron had to remind her.

"Oh yeah, that too…" Pony Head smiled sheepishly.

It was then some monsters nearby had approached the girly team. While Pony Head and Jackie were shocked by their sudden appearances, Daron looks confident and took out her fake wand.

"Don't worry girls," Daron grinned. "I'll take care of these guys."

Daron charged for the monsters and instantly bonked them on the head, knocking them out into unconsciousness.

"Wow Daron, that was awesome girlfriend," Pony Head gushed.

"Yeah, that was pretty cool Daron," Jackie smiled.

"Thanks," Daron held her fake wand in her right hand. "I've taken inspiration from Star when it comes to combat fighting with the fake wand that I handcrafted myself."

"Uh huh, I've gotta admit," the floating unicorn head started. "This team was a great idea."

"Yeah, it was super cool," the skateboarder girl gave Daron two thumbs up.

"It was my pleasure," the Star obsessed fan remarked as some bat monsters approached them from above. "And once we find Star, we can get both of your belongings back from her."

"Totally," Pony Head boasted ecstatically while zapping the bat monsters with a teal color laser that came from her horn, taking them out.

"Uh, I don't know really," Jackie on the other hand, wasn't so sure about if Star has their belongings anymore. "What if Star doesn't have my seashell necklace or Pony Head's medallion anymore?"

"Oh trust me, Jackie, they got to be with her," Daron assured her as they walked off the sandy beach and headed for a grassy plain. "There's no way that my idol would lose such valuables like your seashell necklace and Pony Head's medallion."

"She's right you know," Pony Head told her. "B-Fly is my B.F.F, and I have trust in her that she hasn't lost them. She is mah gurl after all."

"Well, I guess your right," Jackie rubbed the back of her head. "Perhaps we can get through this area and see if we can find them."

"Good idea," Daron and Pony Head remarked as the three of them headed for a grassy plain and head up the hill to see if they could find Star somewhere in the distance…

* * *

Speaking of the Mewni Princess, Team Star was the second to have arrived in the dimension in a separate part from where Team Sparkle ended up. Star and her comrades Marco and Andrew ran out of the portal and started racing across the grassy plains. The three of them got a whip of the coastal air as seagulls were heard overhead.

"Ah, isn't this a great way for the _three_ of us to start our new adventure together," Star questioned as she took in the air and they ran across a stone bridge.

"I agree with you, Star," Marco agreed with a smile before it turned into a confused look. "But…do you guys find it _suspicious_ that Ludo had written that letter to us out of the blue? Because from the last time I spoke to him, I learned that if he had come up with something like _this_, all the bets were off."

"Isn't Ludo the type of person to do something like _this_," Andrew questioned.

"It's hard to tell," Star shrugged her shoulders. "I mean Ludo has been capable of _easing_ into things, especially after the whole Toffee fiasco. He was probably just craving to go back to the good old days and wanted things to go back to the way they were, just like I was."

"Well, it doesn't matter what the motive is," Marco affirmed before a smile crossed his face again. "I'm just glad to be able to hang out with you again Star."

"I feel the same way Marco," Star smiled in return.

"Yeah, I guess this is a _nice_ change of pace," Andrew admitted before frowning. "Although I don't like the thought of _leaving_ my Ruler Gemstone unguarded for a lengthy period of time…"

"Oh don't worry about it Andrew," Star assured him as they were now walking up a grassy hill. "Ludo has probably forgotten all about that. I mean who else is there that would want to make off with your gemstone?"

As they stopped for a short moment, Andrew then faced both of them and answered in a very blunt tone.

"Janna Ordonia."

* * *

"Alright, we're here. You two ready for this," Janna had asked her two new teammates as they had also arrived in the coastal ruins dimension. It looks as if the four teams were heading to the same location, but they were in a different part from the two teams that had arrived before them. Janna was pretty excited to travel with Nebula and the robot Upsilon, but she kept that hidden while she was eager to begin.

"Warning: Immediate destruction if distracted," Upsilon had warned the both of them, ready to hunt down Ludo.

"Huh, I hope you can keep up with _me_," Nebula huffed and turned to her teammates before running off across the grassy area.

Fortunately, Janna and Upsilon were able to keep up with her after all. But Nebula didn't care about that at all.

As they started their trek through the beach-like dimension, Nebula had this weird experience going through it. It was strange being an amnesiac. The first thing she can remember was when she saw the look of shock on Janna's face when she found out who she was. Tilting her head, Nebula hoped that she could find out exactly who she is and uncover the answers to her identity. With that in mind, Nebula decided to accomplish this with her unlikely team sticking behind her; Janna running and Upsilon activating a booster that allowed the robot to keep up with her…

* * *

"Huh, Janna Banana," Star scoffed in response to Andrew's blunt answer. "I haven't seen her since we all left the GOD."

"Probably because you disappeared without a trace for five months," Andrew retorted.

"Yeah, that's probably a likely reason," said Star.

"I had seen Janna hangout with me and Jackie a couple of times or so," Marco admitted. "But other than that, she just hasn't been with us like she was before."

"Well, I've been seeing her constantly. Well, technically I haven't been _seeing _her, but she has been invading my island many times just to pull practical jokes on me without showing herself." Andrew grunted.

"What kind of practical jokes did she pull," the Mewni princess asked with a curious look.

"Oh you know, she pranks me while I'm on my island, whether it'd be a whoopee cushion, I slip on some oil, I encounter a fake ghost that has the words 'BOO' written above it, and she even had the galls to have a pie thrown into my face; all while she was hiding," the treasure hunter scowled. "And if that wasn't enough, she would _always _leave behind a letter for me after the prank had been brought onto me, that refers to me as Andy and she says that the prank that she pulled on me was her own way of showing her affection for me, and she would also write some flirtatious remarks in the letter too. And to top it off, she'd **always **end the letter by writing 'Love, Janna Ordonia – Your favorite troublemaking girl' with a bunch of Xs and Os at the bottom. It's humiliating, and I don't even know what the Xs and Os mean at the end!"

Andrew started growing red in the face but it got brighter when Star laughed at what he explained.

"Oh silly Andrew," Star shook her head. "The Xs and Os at the end mean she's giving you hugs and kisses through the letter."

Andrew was now red from fluster.

"Oh yeah, well she's been doing it constantly to tease me and make me look like an idiot," he sneered. "I can't stand it!"

"I know the feeling all too well Andrew," Marco showed sympathy for him. "But what I wonder is why she does that to you?"

"Probably so I could let my guard down long enough for her to make off with my Ruler Gemstone again," the treasure hunter yelled.

"Well you can forget about the Ruler Gemstone, for now, Andrew and take a look around you," Star told him as they made it to the top of the hill. "It's a beautiful day here, and this is the perfect way to start an adventure!"

"Alright Star," Marco and Andrew said together, with the latter sighing before responding. They then headed down the hill and passed through the sandy part where they saw a lot of palm trees around them with coconuts on top. Combined with the ocean breeze, this truly was the best way to start an adventure…

* * *

The Demonstrix was the last to arrive in the dimension in a spot separate from the other teams as they took in their natural surroundings.

"Yahoo, its beach time," Archibald admired the coastal area around them.

"Now whadda vee gonna do," Buff Frog questioned as he rubbed his chin.

As Archibald was flying around and enjoying his surroundings, the talkie in Buff Frog's hand went off as their client spoke through it.

"Alright, now first, I must _test_ your abilities."

"Bring it on," Buff Frog smirked with confidence.

"We're ready when _you_ are," Tom spoke up, ready to get started in spite of his continuing suspicions about the client.

"Well, here is your first mission: I want to test your investigation skills," the client issued. "There are 20 beached oysters located in this area, but I only require 10. Good luck with collecting 10 oysters."

"Vee are ready for anything. 10 oysters it is," Buff Frog spoke back before pocketing the talkie into his pocket.

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle this without thinking of your children this time," Tom raised an eyebrow.

"You kidding; my children are tadpoles no more, and they are growing up just like their proud and dedicated father," Buff Frog told the demon prince. "And besides, they are in good care, since my daughter Katrina is starting to gain leadership of her brothers just like I had of them when they were tadpoles. Not to mention, this is the first mission we've accepted in months."

"I suppose you have a point," Tom nodded. "I have no doubts that we can find the 10 oysters we're looking for."

"Well, what are we waiting for," Archibald asked. "Let's go find them with no problem."

"Okay, but remember comrades, do _not_ let guard down."

The three of them trekked through the beach area and climbed up a hill. At the top of the hill were several Craw monsters; which were described as being black crow-like bird monsters that are no taller than Ludo. The Craws are the main mooks of Ludo's army and they were planning on ambushing the Demonstrix.

"Hey, there are some monsters ahead," Archibald pointed towards the Craws. "What should we do?"

"Leave this to me you two," Buff Frog announced as he casually approached the Craws in front of them.

He starts the first attack by body slamming into two of them, and then grabs them by the heads and bashes their heads together. Archibald then joined the fray by jumping in and tackling another Craw before biting it on the neck and then kicking it shortly afterward. That Craw collided with the other two Craws that Buff Frog knocked out. The remaining Craws witnessed this and planned to avenge their fallen comrades when Tom steps up.

"Alright, now it's my turn," Tom floated in the air before creating a couple of fireballs with his hands and hurled them towards the remaining Craws that were heading right for them. This caused the Craws to be knocked out and landed next to the other knocked out Craws. With burns from the fire, they weren't able to fight back as Archibald then flew up.

"Now it's time to finish this."

Without another word, Archibald took a deep breath and spat out several lines of green acid that did a significant impact on the monsters. After leaving behind more burns, the Craws vanished into thin air.

"Hey, how did those monsters vanish into thin air like that," Archibald rubbed his temple in confusion.

"Probably the same reason why you were able to spit acid at them," Tom retorted. "I mean I don't recall a gargoyle ever doing such a feat."

"Neither do I," Buff Frog agreed.

"Well…it's a natural habit," the gargoyle admitted. "I guess I'm unique with such a trait not common in gargoyles."

As Buff Frog and Tom nodded, Archibald sees a cliff in front of them and they had to scale it.

"Hey look, there's a cliff over there! Looks like we need to _scale_ it," he informed them.

"Well, no need to carry us, for I am excellent jumper." The frog monster stated.

"And I can just levitate myself up that cliff with no problem." The demon prince pointed out.

"Great, that means I can fly with no issue!" The gargoyle cheered before he started to fly up towards the cliff.

"He's certainly acting _eccentric _and cheerful about _this_," Tom remarked before levitating himself up to the cliff.

"I know." Buff Frog bent his knees and did a super high jump on the cliff, making him the first one to reach the cliff end.

Once Tom and Archibald caught up to him, they saw a stone pillar right in front of them. Buff Frog knew what this meant as he approached it.

"No problem, leave this to me."

Drawing his arm back, he turned it into a fist before landing a punch on the pillar, causing it to crumble into rubble. Coming from the rubble that just formed was the first oyster that they needed to collect.

"Alright comrades, I found first oyster," the frog monster told his partners before showing it to them.

"Awesome, one oyster down," the gargoyle was ecstatic about this.

"Good work, keep it up," their client was heard speaking from the talkie.

"No worries, we'll get on it," Tom told him before the three of them went down the hill.

When they got to the bottom, they encountered more Craws waiting to attack them.

"Hey look, more monsters for us to take out!" Archibald pointed.

"Well, I guess we know what this means," Tom got some fireballs ready.

"You know it, let's do this, my two comrades," Buff Frog responded as the three of them went to take out more Craws monsters before looking for the 9 remaining oysters…

* * *

Elsewhere, Team Sparkle had made it to the first cliff that they had to go up towards.

"Well gurls, this is the _first _cliff that we need to scale," Pony Head huffed.

"Well that shouldn't be a problem Pony Head," Daron smiled. "You can carry us up there."

"Oh uh…Gee, I dunno about that Daron," Pony Head seemed hesitant. "I might not be able to do it..."

"Really, because you were able to carry the both of us along with Star, Marco and Janna at the sleepover we went to at Marco's place," Daron pointed out.

"Yes, but I was struggling with carrying all five of you at once," the floating unicorn head shamefully admitted.

"Not a problem. You only need to carry two of us this time," Daron reassured her.

"Actually I think she only has to carry you, Daron," it was Jackie who spoke up. "I could scale this cliff with no problem."

"Say what now," both Daron and Pony Head were confused by this.

"That's right, the truth is I had always gone hiking and scaling up stone walls when I was younger," the skateboarder admitted. "I use to do this all the time."

Daron was a little hesitant since she didn't want to leave her to climb by herself.

"I don't know…Are you sure that you can handle this," Daron queried.

"No sweat Daron, I've got this," Jackie smiled with confidence.

"Well if she says she's got this, she's got this," Pony Head grabbed Daron for her to grab on. "So let's go Daron gurl and we can leave Jackie to scale this cliff herself."

With a look of concern for her other teammate, Daron then looked at her while being brought up by Pony Head as Jackie started climbing the cliff with endurance.

It didn't take long for Pony Head to reach the top with Daron as she breathed in.

"Oh yeah, that was _good _Daron," Pony Head gloated. "Now let's go!"

"Not without Jackie!" Daron scolded.

"Awww…"

"Look, _we_ made this team and we had agreed that all three of us travel together," Daron pointed out to the floating unicorn head.

"Ugh, fine, but she better hurry it up," Pony Head groaned.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Jackie to make it to the top as she wiped her forehead afterward.

"Oh hey guys, I'm sorry I kept you waiting," Jackie apologized. "You could have gone off without me, and I would have caught up."

"See, I told you," Pony Head sassed.

"Yeah, but _we_ aren't leaving you behind like this Jackie," Daron informed her.

"Well that's sweet Daron," the skateboarder smiled as they continued onwards.

It didn't take long for them to run into the same Craw monsters that the Demonstrix ran into. The three girls didn't know who they were.

"Huh, that's strange," Daron remarked as they approached the Craws. "I have never seen these monsters before."

"I haven't either, but let's fight them off," Pony Head admitted before she and Daron charged for them and attacked them. Daron smacked them with her fake wand while Pony Head fired laser beams from her horn.

One of the Craws decided to go after Jackie instead since she wasn't putting up a fight. Unfortunately, that one Craw was unlucky to pick a fight with her, since the moment it approached her, Jackie reacted and delivered a simple karate chop square in the face, knocking it out cold. Daron and Pony Head took notice of this display as they had knocked out their own monsters.

"Whoa Jackie, I didn't know you could fight like that," Daron expressed.

"Gurl, how did you learn to fight like that?" Pony Head questioned.

"Let's just say that I learned from the best," Jackie smirked as she approached them.

_The best huh…? _Pony Head thought. _Could she be referring to that Earth Turd who hangs out with B-Fly…?_

All of a sudden, the Craws vanished into thin air, as this got the three girls confused.

"Did you see that," Daron cried out. "Those monsters vanished! I mean…how!?"

"Beats me," Pony Head just left it alone. "They are no longer _our_ problem, so we can just shove off."

"Way ahead of you dudette," said Jackie.

Pony Head then grabbed both of them and went up another stone wall that was right in front of them. Once she did that, she blasted down several stone walls that were placed down the grassy hill so they could have a path to safely travel on.

"Okay, now that that's settled, let's press on so we can find Star and get your belongings back." Daron dusted herself off as Pony Head floated back towards them.

"Yup, and I cleared a pathway for us to go down that hill," Pony Head boasted.

"Perfect, this calls for a little skateboarding," Jackie took out her skateboard and put it down onto the ground. "Well come on Daron, I'll carry you on this board. Just don't let go of me."

"Well, if you insist Jackie," Daron smiled before jumping onto the skateboard with Jackie, who gave Daron a helmet to put on while she put on her own helmet. "Let's roll."

"Now you're speaking my language, Daron," Jackie smirked.

"I'm right behind you gurls!" Pony Head yelled.

Jackie then skateboarded down the grassy hill with Daron hanging onto her back while Pony Head flew down to keep up with them…

* * *

Back with Team Dread, as they were continuing with Upsilon bashing down stone walls with iron fists, Janna was thinking to herself about how she was going to help Nebula regain her memory again. She then took notice of the wand that was in her back pocket that the amnesiac girl hadn't noticed yet.

_Alright, that's the wand that she used before. Maybe I could inform her about it._

Clearing her throat, Janna got Nebula's attention.

"Hey Nebula," the Filipino told her. "Do you see the wand that is in your back pocket?"

Nebula stopped for a second before taking out the wand that was in her back pocket.

"What, you mean this thing," she asked in confusion. "What the heck does this thing even do?"

"Well if you'll listen, that thing is what you use to fire away spells that you can cast from it," Janna explained. "If you could try it out and demonstrate it to me, I think you'll start to learn how to use it again."

Nebula shrugs her shoulders and brings the wand close to her face. With a simple wave, the wand started to glow purple before a purple beam of energy was fired from it, almost hitting Janna's beanie while at it.

"Whoa, watch where you're firing that," Janna scolded. "You could seriously hurt someone with that."

"My sensors indicate that our dark-haired teammate has a very inadequate aim with her weapon of choice," Upsilon blared. "Therefore, she isn't fit to handle such a tool."

"I'm not terrible at it," Nebula barked. "I just need to learn how to use it!"

In a matter of seconds, they approach a cliff that they need to go up. Janna then felt this was the best chance for Nebula to learn how to fly again.

"Hey Nebula, do you see those wings on your back?"

Nebula sees them for herself and nods.

"Well if you can try using them again, I think it would be best if you carried us up that cliff." The Filipino suggested.

"Why, can't you fly up that cliff?" Nebula snorted.

"No, that's why I need _your_ help!"

"Well I'm not carrying that robot up there," she huffed.

"I take offense to that," Upsilon said.

"And besides," Nebula ignored the robot. "I don't even remember how to use these wings."

"You just jump in the air and _flap _your wings to fly," Janna groaned.

Knowing that she wouldn't get off her back, Nebula sighed and did what she just said. To her surprise, she was able to fly and was flapping her wings. Seeing what she is capable of, she grabs Janna's arm and proceeds to carry her up the cliff.

"Alright, I'll carry you, Janna," Nebula snorted. "But I'm not carrying that megaton robot!"

"No assistance required," Upsilon activated a jet booster that allowed him to hover in the air and fly up towards the cliff. "I can escort myself up that cliff using my own jet boosters."

"Fair enough," Janna sighed. "Let's go Nebula."

With a huff, Nebula went up and caught up to Upsilon to make it up towards the cliff.

Once the three of them made it to the top, Upsilon was on his two feet again and detected the presence of some monsters straight ahead.

"Enemy presence detected," the robot declared. "Line up next to me."

Both Nebula and Janna were skeptical about the request. Nonetheless, they obliged as they moved onward side by side. They eventually approached a clan of Craw monsters that the Teams Demonstrix and Sparkle faced before.

"Well, we got some company," Nebula got her wand ready.

"Here they come," Janna got out her hairdryer. "I wonder where Ludo got these monsters from…"

"Reason for gaining possession of monsters isn't relevant," Upsilon blared. "Ludo's monsters must be exterminated!"

Upsilon opened fire on them with his arsenals while Nebula used her wand to shoot purple energy beams towards them. By contrast, Janna just charged at some of the monsters by kicking them or hitting them with her hairdryer.

"That'll show _them_," Janna dusted her hands when she noticed something with Nebula and Upsilon. While they did take out the monsters, they almost hit each other with their respective attacks.

"Hey, you almost hit me with your _stupid_ bullets," Nebula snarled in anger.

"Your attacks with the wand aren't so sufficient either," the robot countered. "My attacks are far more consistent with dealing with these monsters, and they deal more efficiency."

"Who needs more efficiency?" Nebula growled.

"Who needs hostility?"

Janna witnessed that they were going at it again and it wasn't good.

"Hey knock it off you two," Janna yelled. "The both of you made up and moved on from that point, so don't go killing each other!"

"Well _sorry_," Nebula snorted. "But I _don't_ enjoy having a dumb bucket of bolts tell _me_ what to do."

"**WHO ARE YOU CALLING A DUMB BUCKET OF BOLTS YOU INFERIOR FLESH BAG?!" **Upsilon boomed as he was preparing to fire away at Nebula again with Nebula readying her wand to counter-attack.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Janna yelled and got in between them, tapping her foot impatiently. "We aren't going any further until you two stop this nonsense!"

**SEVERAL MINUTES LATER…**

"Feel free to make up anytime now," Janna ordered them.

Both Nebula and Upsilon were glaring at each other, right in their respective eyes. Janna, one of the most irresponsible and inattentive people who cause mischief had to be responsible and attentive to an amnesiac Nebula and a killer robot, something that went against her nature.

"Now remember, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. You both want to go after Ludo, so what's the harm of achieving that goal together?"

"I have_ two_ good reasons; 1.) I don't like being insulted by this robot, and 2.) I have no reason for going after Ludo." Nebula retorted as she crossed her arms.

This caused Janna to gawk.

"Of course you have a reason! You woke up in that capsule and you don't remember anything," Janna shouted. "Ludo had you kept in that capsule for who knows how long, and you are after him for some answers as to _why _you were in that _state._"

"So what _your_ saying is that my memory loss is Ludo's fault," the amnesiac girl questioned while cautiously eying her.

"Who knows for sure, all that I'm saying is that the only way you'll be able to find out more is to go to Ludo for the answers." Janna huffed.

"Janna makes a valid point there and I agree with this proposal," Upsilon beeped. "Perhaps we can form this alliance so we can hunt down Ludo together."

"Well since you put it _that_ way," Nebula sighed and went with it. "We have no time to waste then. Let's get moving right away."

"Affirmative," the robot agreed.

"Now _we_ can shove off." Janna huffed as the three of them moved forward.

As they were, Janna was starting to grow a little anxious about having to take care of two people that could be a danger to innocent people. She didn't think that she had to be responsible for them.

_This is going to be __**harder**__ than I thought…_

* * *

Team Star was seemingly making good progress since they were quite acquainted with this type of action. Star was the one who did most of the work by flying over obstacles with her partners behind her, Marco didn't have a problem with, and Andrew only got in front when it came to punching down stone walls that stood in their path.

In particular, when Star called Andrew to punch down the stone wall in front of them, he went to work.

"Shift, rock, yeah," he grunted as the wall turned to rubble.

"Andrew, watch your language," Star scolded him.

Andrew just gave her a blank stare as a result.

"What, all I was saying was 'shift'." Andrew defended.

Star blinked for a second before realizing it for herself.

"Oh, I thought you said shi-!"

"Star," Marco covered her mouth immediately. "Before you go any further, I'm going have you stop right _there_."

"Yeah Star," Andrew chuckled as Marco uncovered her mouth. "We don't want this story to be bumped to a T rating."

"Oh ha, very clever Andrew," Star snorted before turning around and escorting them again. "Aside from that, isn't _this _fun you two?"

"Yeah, I just have to wonder why we never been to this dimension before," Marco wondered.

"Just remember, the only reason we're here now is due to the fact that Ludo has been spotted in this dimension," Andrew reminded the both of them.

"…Or we can forget about _that_ for a moment and have some fun exploring this dimension," Star suggested as she sprouted her wings and started to fly off the edge of the cliff. Along the way, she came across several bat monsters flying after her.

"Alright, now we're talking," Star got out her wand. "It's time for some real action: Rainbow Blast!"

She fired several rainbow blasts from her wand and took out the bat monsters that surrounded her. Andrew shook his head and grumbled while Marco smiled sheepishly. Both of them had to make chase after her.

"Jeez, she's being such a _showoff_," Andrew groaned. "I swear that one of these days, it's going to backfire against her."

"But this _is_ Star we're talking about." Marco countered.

"I know that," Andrew grumbled.

"Hey come on you two," Star called out to them. "Don't let me hog _all _the fun to myself!"

This caused Andrew to grow irritated as he had to catch up with her along with Marco. Of course, it didn't take long for Star to finally let the experience get to her, and as such, she then started flying away ahead of them, leaving her two partners behind.

"Well there she goes," the treasure hunter grumbled. "Now _we_ have to go after _her_."

"Don't worry too much," the Latino karate expert tried to ease his tension. "We can catch up to her. She'll be fine."

"Oh sure she would, but considering all the reckless stuff that she has done in the past, I wouldn't be surprised if something _did_ happen," he told him. "I mean _you _can remember all the times where she put your _own_ life at risk, right?"

"Yeah, you have a _point, _Andrew."

"Of course I have, and that's _why _we need to go after her Marco."

With that agreement in mind, both of them decided to chase after Star and hoped that they could catch up to her soon…

* * *

So Team Dread continued their search for Ludo. They felt that if they followed all the monsters that got in their way, they could end up directly towards him. As it seems, Janna had convinced both Nebula and Upsilon to team up when they fought against the monsters instead of wanting to outdo each other. Each of those monsters was met with a dark purple energy beam from Nebula and her wand, open fire and arsenal from Upsilon, and a kick in the head or a clonk on the head by a hairdryer from Janna. They all vanished into thin air, assuming that Upsilon had something to do with it. As she put away her hairdryer, the Filipino was starting to think about her decision of this team.

"This really isn't as _fun_ as I thought it'd be," she muttered. "I'm supposed to be a troublemaking mischief-maker who is irresponsible and inattentive; not some babysitter who has to keep a killer robot and an amnesiac Nebula from killing each other and potentially killing _anyone_ else around them."

Regardless, Janna had to suck it up for the sake of Nebula's memory, not to mention Upsilon was kind of cool after a while. And luckily when they weren't fighting, things were going smooth. They could hear the ocean waves, seagulls chirping above, and they could smell the beach weather. Of course, that didn't stop Upsilon and Nebula from doing what they had to. In particular, some stone pillars got in their way as Upsilon decided to take action.

"Exterminate; fire, fire!" Upsilon blared as he shot down the pillars which crumbled up into rubble.

"You know there was absolutely no need for that at all," Janna shook her head.

"Perhaps, but I want to allow myself to remain non-obsolete." The robot informed.

"Upsilon, you are a one-ton walking fighting robot that has a lot of raw power installed into your system," Janna pointed out. "You're not going to go out of style anytime soon!"

"It's a shame really," Nebula muttered, only to be punched in the side by Janna.

"What did I tell you about talking like that?" Janna hissed.

"I have a right to free speech, woman!" Nebula barked back.

Janna decided to remain quiet after Nebula said that. Despite her memory loss, the attitude was definitely that of Nebula's and Janna knew it.

Nebula didn't want to deal with the Filipino right now, so she sprouted her wings and decided to fly off. Janna and Upsilon took notice of their partner flying off at such a fast speed similar to how Star did it. While Upsilon comprehended this feat, Janna smirked and felt like she knew that she'd figure it out.

"My sensors have indicated that she's soaring through the air at an incredible acceleration," Upsilon informed. "Unable to comprehend how this feat was achievable, however…"

"I knew that she'd figure it out eventually," Janna smirked as the both of them worked on catching up to her.

Meanwhile, Nebula was still flying and couldn't quite understand how she was able to fly this fast.

"How am I able to fly at this speed," she wondered. "If I'm able to do _this_ and using magic with a wand, then what else am I capable of doing?"

As she thought about the possibilities, she then caught sight of someone flying in the distance at a lower level. Nebula wasn't able to quite make out who this person was, aside from the fact that she had pale skin, long length blond hair and was wearing a teal dress. Oh, and she had butterfly wings that helped her soar through the air. There was something about her that was vaguely suspicious to Nebula.

_I wonder who that is down there… I feel like that's someone that I should have known from my past, but I can't quite tell for sure…_

Once Nebula got a closer look, she noticed that this girl had a figure just like her.

_Her figure looks just like mine… But, who is she…?_

Giving up on finding out more, for now, Nebula landed back onto the ground to contemplate what she saw.

It didn't take long for Upsilon and Janna to catch up to her as Janna was being lifted on Upsilon's shoulder while he was hovering through the air after Nebula. When they both landed on the ground, Janna approached her and smirked.

"Don't outdo yourself like you just did Nebula," Janna teased. "This is just the beginning of this adventure, and we don't need you to tire yourself out before we reach the end."

"I'm fine as I am, but…I did see something," Nebula admitted. "Or _someone_ that was flying in the distance."

"Who was flying in the distance?"

"I don't know. I couldn't make _her_ out," Nebula shook her head. "Anyway, I apologize for flying off like that."

"Perfectly understandable," the robot responded. "If it were me, I'd pursue my curiosity as well."

Janna simply nodded in response.

"Well, it's great to see you guys aren't upset," she remarked before she continued off with Janna and Upsilon right beside her, unaware that the Filipino was hiding a smile from her…

* * *

After they had defeated the monsters, the Demonstrix continued to trek through the beach-like area. Tom had already found 3 more oysters along the shoreline as the client requested, leaving them with 6 more to find. It didn't take long for the demon prince to take notice of some bat monsters flying over his head to swoop down at him and attack. He actually wanted their client to know of his capabilities. So he floats in the air, his eyes turn red as he summons a firestorm that causes the bats to burst into flames and turn into ashes before vanishing. He had no idea how this phenomenon was possible as he descended back down. Archibald had witnessed this as did Buff Frog, both of whom were quite content with holding their own too.

_Hmmm, I wonder if ve'll find other oysters soon… _Buff Frog thought as he approached Tom with Archibald behind him, observing the scenery around him. He actually saw some narwhals jump out of the ocean and splash back down.

"Okay, so we have 4 oysters now," the demon prince exclaimed. "There are only 6 more to find."

"Fair enough," Buff Frog took in.

"Hey, look at the _narwhals_!" Archibald pointed out to the narwhals that were jumping in and out of the ocean. "That looks so cool!"

As the three of them continued, the ruins around them started to move when they approached them.

"These ruins react to movement," the frog monster brought up.

Tom rolled his eyes as he didn't want to know how that was possible. He then floats up to a nearby block above and found the fifth oyster right on top of it. As he grabbed it, Buff Frog continued to persuade Archibald to keep up with them, but Tom waved it off and told him that he'll catch up to them eventually.

"What's the matter," their client wondered. "You're only _halfway_ there."

"There have been a couple of obstacles holding us back," Tom retorted diligently. "But we'll find the other oysters in no time."

"I hope so; because I need to make sure that you _three_ are able to handle what else I have that's in store for you." The client told him before cutting the call.

Tom narrowed his eyes but said nothing as he pocketed the talkie. Buff Frog was still tagging by his side.

"Hey Tom is it alright if I can claim next oyster," he asked. "You've been hogging most of them."

"I'm hogging most of them? I've been finding _most_ of them myself," the demon scoffed. "I'll tell you what though, if you find the next oyster, then you can claim it."

"Got it," Buff Frog said proudly. "You keep up good work too, Tom."

"Okay."

"Hey guys, what about me," Archibald called out.

"What about _you?_ You're not needed by us at the moment," Tom retorted.

"What if you did need me," Archibald then revealed. "Besides, I had just found two more oysters while you guys were searching for your _own_."

"Then that makes 7 oysters collected." The frog monster counted.

"That means we need 3 more," the demon prince sighed. "Let's go."

The three of them had to use a cannon that was right at the top, much to their reluctance. They were then fired from it and sent to a higher stone platform, where the 8th oyster was located. Buff Frog was the one to have grabbed it and claimed it.

"We aren't done yet," Archibald pointed out. "We have to go up the cliff right above us."

And so they individually went up to the cliff. Archibald and Tom flew and levitated up there respectively while Buff Frog waited for them to get up there. When they were up there, Buff Frog jumped up and landed onto the higher area. What the frog monster landed on was a wooden crate that contained the ninth oyster that they needed.

"Oyster number nine," the frog monster declared. "Only one more oyster to go."

"Let's go find it," Tom spoke before they went to search for it with Archibald trailing behind them…

* * *

At this point, Team Dread was starting to get exhausted. They were facing more monsters than the other teams were and this was only the beginning of their journey. It didn't help that Upsilon had noticed that Janna and Nebula were both distracted. However, the robot kept it from his allies since it was against his better AI system.

It wasn't long before they were surrounded by more monsters as Nebula grumbled about this.

"Okay Upsilon, you know what you have to do," Janna grinned.

"Affirmative," the killer robot then initiated his flamethrower setting. "Eliminate all Ludo's monsters!"

Once he activated it, the monsters surrounding the robot were burnt to a crisp. That didn't stop more of the Craw monsters from coming and surrounding both Nebula and Janna.

"Here come some more monsters," Nebula warned. "Get ready Janna."

"You got it."

As the monsters approached them, Janna found herself bashing their heads in with her hairdryer when she wasn't kicking them. Nebula meanwhile was using her wand to blast away the monsters with purple energy beams. It didn't take long for them to be finished with the slaughtering.

They then approached another cliff, which they knew what this meant.

"Are you ready to do this Nebula," Janna asked her companion.

"Alright," Nebula sighed. "But I'm still not carrying Upsilon up this cliff."

"No assistance required," Upsilon declared. "Ludo has at least installed a hover system that allows me to ascend into the air."

"Fair enough," Nebula grabs Janna and starts to fly with the Filipino in her hands, as Upsilon used his hover boaster to reach the height of the cliff.

"I really don't get _this_," Nebula huffed as she allowed Janna to land onto the ground on her feet. "Why must I carry you up towards cliffs like this?"

"Well it's simple, I can't fly and I need the help," Janna sighed. "Unless I somehow sprout a couple of wings of my own, you'll just have to carry me up these cliffs."

"I guess it's the catch of having a leader who _can't_ fly," Nebula muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, let's just continue."

In a matter of seconds, more monsters appeared and surrounded them.

"Okay Upsilon, open fire on these monsters," Janna encouraged.

"Exterminate and destroy," Upsilon got the missiles ready. "OPEN FIRE!"

A bunch of missiles and bullets were unleashed on the monster army, causing them to get taking out of commission.

"What the heck is going on," Nebula wiped her mouth as Upsilon slaughtered the enemies in front of them. "Why are all these monsters after us?"

"Well let's see, I did break into Ludo's castle to find a secret supernatural artifact, but instead I made off with an amnesiac girl and a killer robot that was assigned to guard the girl in the capsule," Janna explained. "In other words, I made off with you two which is why the monsters are after us."

"That sounds about right," Nebula decided to go with that for an answer.

Once the monsters were cleared out, the dreadful team continued through the area while overcoming several more obstacles in their path…

* * *

Sometime later, as Andrew was gliding through the air with Marco hanging onto him, the two of them finally caught up to Star, as she was heard shouting some of her spells.

"Narwhal Blast, Rainbow Fist Punch, Rainbow Blast, Cupcake Blast!"

The reason for this was simple: she was outnumbered by a bunch of Craw monsters as Marco and Andrew took a peek and saw this going on.

"It looks like Star is in trouble!" Marco cried out.

"But this _is_ Star we're talking about, remember?" Andrew reminded him.

"Yes, but it wouldn't hurt to help her out."

Not wasting a single second, Marco jumps down and lands right on top of one of the monsters. He then proceeds to kick two more monsters with his shin before karate chopping another monster in the face. Andrew then jumps down and drills into the ground to dig through and emerge from another spot that struck one of the monsters in the face. He then charged for another monster and punches it in the face before delivering an uppercut.

Star had noticed that Marco and Andrew finally showed up.

"Oh, hey Marco…and Andrew," Star greeted them. "Finally decided to show up huh?"

"Well, we would have shown up sooner, if _someone _didn't decide on flying off on us like this," Andrew retorted before punching the lights out of the last monster with Marco karate chopping it to make sure it stays unconscious.

"I'm sorry for leaving you guys behind like this," Star apologized. "I promise I won't ditch you like this again."

"Yeah right," Andrew huffed, not believing her. "Yes, you will."

"I do, and I know she'll keep that promise," Marco affirmed.

"You know it, Marco." Star gave that smile she was known for.

Andrew could only facepalm for a minute before they noticed the Craw monsters they faced.

"Hey, is it just me, or do these monsters look different to you," Marco wondered. "I've never _seen_ these monsters before. Are they a _new_ addition to Ludo's army?"

The Craw monster then suddenly vanished moments later. This caused them to head onward towards another beach area.

"I think the better question is how did they disappear like this?" Andrew questioned.

Marco was about to say something, but something caught Star's attention and got her to scream.

"GUYS, I JUST SAW A NARWHAL JUMP OUT OF THE WATER NEARBY," Star was overly hyped. "Take a look for yourself!"

Star pointed in the direction that the narwhals were jumping in the ocean from.

"Wow, that is a majestic sight to behold," Marco remarked.

"Now I've seen it all," Andrew muttered.

They then continued down the slope and came face to face with a cannon.

"Hey, it's a cannon," Star grinned, having gotten one of her crazy ideas. "Let's try jumping in it and fire ourselves from it."

"Oh no, absolutely out of the question," Andrew protested. "There's no way I'm getting into that!"

"Oh come on Andrew, it'll be fun," Star begged for him to join. "Besides, I think you'll love it."

Before Andrew could dismiss the idea, Marco already jumped into the cannon and Star grabbed Andrew's hand before jumping in afterward with the reluctant treasure hunter.

_WHY COULDN'T WE HAVE JUST SWUM ACROSS THE WATER!? WE'RE GOOD SWIMMERS AFTER ALL! _Andrew bellowed in his thoughts.

In a matter of seconds, the cannon fired and sent the three of them flying through the air.

"YAHOO, THIS IS AWESOME!" Star and Marco cheered simultaneously.

"_YOU'RE CRAZY STAR!" _Andrew frantically yelled. "YOU'RE COMPLETELY _CRAZY_ TO HAVE THOUGHT OF AN IDEA LIKE THIS!"

As soon as they hit the ground, the three of them dusted themselves off and Andrew grumbled to himself.

"Never….again…" Andrew shook his head as he followed his two partners through the area.

* * *

After some more traveling, the trio of girls made it to another beach part in the area. It was still a beautiful sight to see.

"You know dudettes," Jackie admired. "I love the beach, and it's especially fun to go to on a hot summer day."

As Daron and Pony Head nodded, Jackie caught sight of a Narwhal that jumped over their heads. This got the skateboarder confused.

"Hey guys, did you see that narwhal that passed us," Jackie asked resulting in both of her teammates to nod. "I wonder why there are narwhals here."

"Beats me," Daron shrugged her shoulder. "Though I assume it has something to do with the fact that we're in a different dimension. And since this is another dimension, anything is possible, including the presence of narwhals."

"Do you think we'll encounter mermaids next?" The skateboarder girl wondered.

"It's possible, but we don't know for sure." The nerdy Star fan took a guess.

While Daron and Jackie continued to talk to each other, Pony Head decided to check the place by herself, so she flew on ahead without her teammates knowing and goes to the top of a cliff. She then looked past the horizon to see if Star was in the distance, but to no avail.

_Darn, I could have sworn I saw B-Fly in the distance. _Pony Head groaned mentally.

But that wasn't the only thing she had to worry about.

"PONY HEAD!" Daron was heard yelling in an irritated manner, which caught the floating unicorn head's attention. With Jackie's help, Daron got up to the top and wasn't thrilled by how their companion almost left them in the dust.

"Pony Head, would you mind telling me why you left me and Jackie behind like that?" She asked, sounding ticked.

"Oh uh…I guess I forgot," Pony Head chuckled nervously. "I thought I was alone for a minute there."

"Didn't I tell you before; we are a team," Daron reminded her. "We have to stick together."

"Okay, I'm sorry Daron gurl," Pony Head sighed.

"Just _don't _do it again," the nerdy girl warned her.

"Hey, it's all cool," Jackie assured her. "It's no sweat Pony Head, just as long as you didn't wander off _too_ far."

"Okay gurls, I pinkie promise that I won't do it again," Pony Head opens her mouth to cause a fake pinkie to appear on her tongue.

"I'm not touching that," Daron dismissed it.

"You're not the first one who's said that to me," Pony Head exclaimed. "Anyway, it'll be a good idea if the three of us look for B-Fly together so we can find mah medallion."

"And my seashell necklace," Jackie added.

"That too," Pony Head remarked.

"Let's see if we can find Star."

The three of them then looked over the horizon to see if they can find Star in the distance…

* * *

Team Dread had made it to an area where ruins were submerged into the ocean. This was a breathtaking sight to behold. Unfortunately, the likes of Nebula and Upsilon had other objectives in mind that didn't involve ruins.

"Alright, let's do this again," Nebula flew and grabbed Janna while Upsilon used his hover mode to ascend over the gap with Nebula.

Nebula was still wondering why she was able to fly like this and where did she gain possession of a wand. Perhaps Janna knows a thing about it.

"I don't understand Janna," Nebula started. "How am I able to fly like this, and where did I gain possession of this wand."

"Well you should know Nebula since you are the ultimate life form," Janna teased.

"Ultimate Life Form; what do you mean by that?" Nebula raised an eyebrow.

"Oh you'll find out in due time, I hope," Janna assured her as Nebula then lands and allows Janna to drop with Upsilon landing right beside them. As they raced through the area, Nebula was lost in thought about her identity and what Janna meant by her being the ultimate life form.

_What is there to know about my identity and what does Janna mean when she called me the Ultimate Life Form? I guess I'll find out in due time as Janna said… _

They eventually found themselves racing through a crooked hall…

* * *

After the cannon fiasco, Team Star was now in front of a cliff that they had to scale. Andrew had already started to climb the wall himself, but Star had other things in mind.

"Remember when I said that I prefer to work alone," Andrew grunted as he jabbed his hand into another rock sticking out.

"Well you aren't alone at the moment, so you have nothing to worry about." Star had grabbed Andrew by the feet as he grabbed Marco by the hands.

"Alright, now I'm twice as irritated," Andrew sneered. "Star, why did you have to grab me by the legs? I feel the blood rushing to my head!"

"It was the only part that I could grab of you," Star insisted. "And I couldn't have grabbed you by the arm, because then you would have attacked me."

"Oh, you think," Andrew retorted when he was then dropped to the ground by Star along with Marco.

"Well thanks a lot for the experience Star," Andrew was being sarcastic.

"No problem Andrew." Star smiled.

Marco just facepalmed and shook his head.

It wasn't long before they encountered something else that attracted Star's attention: a cart of some kind.

"Marco, what's that?" She pointed.

"It looks like it's a cart of some kind," Marco explained.

"Sounds like fun," Star was eager to try it out. "Let's go check it out!"

"Oh no, it looks like it's nothing important, so we can just continue on and _ignore_ it." Andrew insisted.

"That's the problem with you Andrew, you never want to try new things," Star told him. "Come on, it'll be a blast."

Before Andrew could walk away, Star grabbed him and threw him into the front seat of the cart while she grabbed the bar and float and Marco started to push the cart in the back before jumping in the back seat.

"Let's see what this thing can do," Star gushed as the vehicle started to move.

"_**STAR!"**_ Andrew yelled as he was a part of the antic.

Both Star and Marco were cheering about the experience this cart was giving them while Andrew had no choice but to hang on for dear life.

"This is even _worse_ than that cannon," cried the treasure hunter.

"I think this is fun," the Latino cheered.

"You're starting to sound just like her!"

It didn't take long for the cart to hit a bump in the road which caused the cart to be sent soaring through the air before they got out of it before it crashed into a wall.

"We are so lucky we didn't crash into that wall," Andrew muttered.

"There was no problem at all." Star cheered.

Before Andrew could make another retort, some bat monsters were dropping bombs from above as they had to scurry away to avoid getting hit.

"Don't worry, I've got this," the princess of Mewni readied her wand and got ready to take out the bat monsters.

After shouting Rainbow Fist Punch and Lightning Blast, she took out the bat monsters with those respective attacks.

Once they were taken care of, the three of them continued. They had encountered some more stone walls ahead of them.

"Hey Andrew, would you mind punching those walls down for us?" Star asked sweetly.

"Why do I have to do it," Andrew groaned. "Why can't Marco do it?"

"Because the last time I did something like that, I broke my arm," Marco explained. "Star had cast a spell on my arm which turned it into an octopus tentacle known as the Monster Arm. I still get the shivers from thinking about that especially after it said that it'll return one day."

"And besides, your fists are as _hard_ as your head," Star poked fun of him.

This got Andrew ticked as he gritted his teeth. He then went and punched down the stone wall, which turned it into rubble. A piece of the wall then went flying as a rock hit Star in the head.

"Ow, what was _that_ for Andrew," Star groaned while rubbing her temple.

"The power of friendship, that's what," Andrew grinned devilishly.

This resulted in an argument between Star and Andrew to occur as Marco just groaned and placed his face into his hands.

"This is going to be a _long_ trip…" He then got the both of them to follow him as they continued through the area…

* * *

As this was going on, the Demonstrix was still looking for the last oyster in the area, but they weren't having any luck finding it.

"Hey Tom, you sure you can handle this?" Buff Frog felt like asking his comrade.

"You kidding, if I'm good at playing ping pong without a paddle, then finding the last oyster shouldn't be a problem," Tom answered.

"Then why don't you levitate yourself up to that cliff?" Archibald asked.

"I'm conserving my energy for when I need it."

Buff Frog sighs and realizes what this means.

"Guess it'd be up to me," Buff Frog bent his knees and jumped up the cliff himself. He then finds the last oyster in the patch of flowers nearby.

"Hey comrades, I found last oyster in patch of flowers up here," Buff Frog yelled as Archibald and Tom got up the cliff themselves.

"That's all ten," Tom then spoke into the talkie. "We found all ten oysters."

"Good job, mission complete," the client praised them.

"Yes, I'm just beginning to wonder what else our client has in store for us, since we barely got through this task," Tom moaned.

"Don't worry Tom; we were never in danger of failing." Archibald blurted.

Now Tom looked curious as he turned to face the gargoyle.

"Oh and why is that if I may ask?"

"Because I had the other _10 oysters_ in my possession this whole time," Archibald showed them the other ten oysters that he found when he was left behind. This caused Tom and Buff Frog to jaw drop at the sight.

"You…you had those this _whole _time, and you never told us to save us _all _this trouble?" Tom hissed.

"Heh heh, I probably should have shown them to you sooner…but that's what happens when you leave me behind like that!"

Both Tom and Buff Frog glared at the gargoyle for making them go through all that trouble when he had 10 this whole time. Archibald took notice of their angry looks as he then tossed the oysters onto them and flew off. Needless to say, they did not appreciate this.

**"UGH, _CURSE YOU ARCHIBALD!"_** Tom howled as the gargoyle flew off.

"He's seriously gonna _regret_ doing that," Buff Frog grumbled as he pulled an oyster off his body. "No joke either, that was unnecessary."

The both of them chased after Archibald as they headed to the next part of the area for their next mission…

* * *

"So how much longer do we have to go on for?" Andrew questioned, almost trudging as he ran.

"You mean this dimension or the adventure in general," Marco double checked. "Because this is only the beginning of our journey you know."

"I meant this dimension." Andrew clarified.

"Why, what's the rush," Star told him. "This is only the _first_ dimension that we have to go through.

"I just hope that I don't get a headache from traveling with Star for a long period of time," Andrew muttered under his breath.

They kept trekking forward until they made it to a Cliffside area. What Star and Marco saw was a sight to behold.

"Now that's a wonder of nature," Marco remarked.

"What, what is it?" Andrew looked for himself.

"There's an island that's shaped like a narwhal!"

"Okay, so the island is mesmerizing." Andrew huffed.

"_NARWHAL!_ Let's go check it out!" Star cheered.

"Star, wait…" Andrew didn't get to finish since Star grabbed both his hand and Marco's hand and she flew through the area and was heading to the Narwhal shaped island, with Andrew not getting a say in this at all…

* * *

Eventually, Team Dread made it to the end of a tunnel which had three Craw monsters and a cannon.

"Hey dudes, let's use that _cannon_ to go up," Janna suggested as Nebula and Upsilon were taking out the Craw monsters that were in front of them before gawking.

"Really," Nebula was curious by this.

"Yes, let's try it out!"

Nebula and Upsilon shrugged at that as the three of them went into the cannon. It launched them sky high into the air, and they were sent up to the upper part leading out of the area.

"Minus gravity detected," Upsilon muttered.

"Whatever that means," Nebula just brushed it off before landing with her teammates.

They were then ambushed by more monsters that were after their blood.

"Useless bags of flesh," Nebula sneered.

"I'll exterminate them all!" Upsilon blared before opening fire on the monsters.

"Is that all you two can think about; destruction and answers," Janna groaned.

"Well, what else are an amnesiac girl and a killer robot suppose to do," Nebula retorts with her own question.

"I dunno, but this is a bit _too much_ for me…" she shook her head.

"Well you were the one who started this team in the first place," Nebula pointed out as she zapped a monster with her wand. "This was something that you should have expected from _us_."

Janna then hits a monster that approached her with her hairdryer, clonking it out.

"I just didn't think it'd be this…" She tried saying but Upsilon interrupted her.

"Sensors picked up an island shaped like a whale with a horn of magical energy on its head in the distance."

"I think you mean Narwhal," Janna told him.

"My sensors have also detected some life forms heading in that direction," Upsilon continued. "My indication is that we head in that direction."

"Well, that's where we should head." The Filipino decided to go with that.

Meanwhile, Nebula had noticed someone in the distance. It was the same blonde haired girl from earlier, and it looked like she had two friends by her side this time. She couldn't make them out but it was clear that they were both males. And she was heading straight for the Narwhal Island. It was clear that they had to head to the island, but she kept who she saw to herself.

"Let's not waste any more time," Nebula finally said before jumping off of the edge and flying off for the island, with Janna and Upsilon following after her towards the Narwhal Island, and not another word was uttered by any of them…

* * *

Team Sparkle had done some traveling as they were now looking over from another hill…well, Daron was that is. Pony Head and Jackie decided to sit down for a bit to catch their breath after all the traveling they've done so far.

"Hey Daron, do you see Star yet," the skateboarder had to ask.

"No, I don't see her yet Jackie." Daron pointed out.

"Well, I hope we find _her_ soon gurls because there's a medallion with my name written on it waiting to be retrieved!" Pony Head huffed.

"I know Pony Head," Daron sighed as she kept looking.

It was then she saw Star flying in the distance towards the Narwhal Island.

"Hey girls, I just saw Star heading for the Narwhal Island," She cheered. "Even though I didn't see her with that medallion or the seashell necklace, there were two people traveling with her."

"She's traveling with two other people," Jackie was curious.

"Well don't leave us hanging gurl, tell us who was with her," Pony Head demanded.

"The people that were with her are the treasure hunter Andrew, and the Latino karate expert Marco." She answered.

"M-Marco," Jackie's attention focused on the last person she mentioned. "Are you referring to Marco Diaz?"

"That is correct Jackie," Daron nodded.

_Whoa, I had no idea Marco was traveling with Star! Although this shouldn't come as a surprise, I'm still surprised that he's traveling with her, along with that Andrew Tresor dude. _Jackie's thoughts went wild.

"So wait, B-Fly is traveling with that Earth Turd and that nincompoop hunter Andrew Tresor," Pony Head questioned.

"That's what I said Pony Head," the nerdy girl smiled before facing the Narwhal Island. "Well girls, if we have any hopes of catching Star, we have to head to that Narwhal Island before making our next course of action."

"Way ahead of you gurlfriend," Pony Head was ready for anything. "Let's go!"

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to this," Jackie smirked. "I look forward to seeing Marco."

"And I look forward to seeing Star," Daron grinned. "Let's head out."

Both of her partners nodded as they jumped down and headed straight for the Narwhal Island, as they were heading in the same direction that the other teams were heading into…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 1!**

**YEAH, THIS CHAPTER IS REALLY SLOW, THE PACING IS SLUGGISH, AND IT'S PRETTY LONG! THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS OR SO WILL ALSO BE SLOW AND SLUGGISH, BUT THE LATER CHAPTERS WILL BE MUCH MORE ENGAGING, I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT!**

**ANYWAY, FEEL FREE TO REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE, UNTIL NEXT TIME!**


	3. Coastal Ruins Dimension II

**CHAPTER 2-COASTAL RUINS DIMENSION II:**

* * *

After exploring the Narwhal Island, Team Star ended up propelling to another part of the dimension. They were now in front of what looked like a sea palace, which got Star to gawk at the sight in front of her.

"Wow, what is this place," she wondered. "Marco, can you find any information on this palace?"

Marco took out his phone and searched for some information on it. Unfortunately, there _wasn't _any specified data on the place.

"I don't know. I can't find any information about this place on my phone," the karate expert admitted. "But from what I'm seeing, this place looks like it was once an ancient temple."

"A sea palace," said Star in admiration.

Both Star and Marco looked at Andrew, expecting an explanation from him. This got Andrew confused as he wasn't sure what the attention was about.

"What," he asked. "What are you guys staring at _me_ for?"

"Well Mr. _Treasure Hunter_," Star put emphasis on 'treasure hunter'. "Since this is a sea palace that looks like it has ancient relics, we thought that _you_ would know about this place."

"And if I can remember correctly, you told me that when you aren't guarding the Ruler Gemstone, you had gone traveling through dimensions to explore many different ruins and temples to find relics and treasure," Marco brought up.

"I have, but I never been to _this_ dimension," Andrew insisted before taking a look at the entrance. "Although from what I'm seeing, if my instincts are correct, it is assumed that the Knuman had explored the temple long ago before it sunk into the ocean. They were probably checking this place out to see if there was any treasure lurking around."

"Well that's nice to know Andrew," Star chirped. "Perhaps the three of us can explore this place ourselves before we can set our sights on Ludo, and see if we can find any relics or treasure to check out too."

"Don't think it'll be _that_ easy Star," Andrew informed her. "Ludo's monsters are _here_ too."

"Then that means we're getting closer to him," Star beamed. "Plus that leaves more monsters to take out."

"In that case, let's check this place out," Marco decided.

"Might as well," Andrew sighed before the three of them had to get across the gap of ocean water with Star flying over and carrying Marco while Andrew had to glide on over.

Once they made it to the other side, they encounter a door that was sealed shut. In order to get by, the door had to be punched open. And Star knew who was perfect for the task.

"Hey Andrew, do you think you could punch-"

The Mewni princess didn't get to finish as Andrew already went ahead and _punched_ the door open, breaking it down into _several_ pieces.

"-this door down for us?" Star finished afterwards.

"You were _saying_," Andrew asked with a sly smile.

"Never mind, good work Andrew," she shook it off before grinning.

The three of them went through the door to explore the palace for themselves.

"I wonder what we'll encounter in this palace." Marco seemed curious.

"Aside from more monsters, who knows," Andrew responded.

"Only one way to find out," Star declared. "Let's go."

The three of them ventured through the palace to see what they could find…

* * *

"An ancient civilization that was established in the sea…" Nebula was heard muttering to herself. Nebula with Janna and Upsilon had made it to the same palace in the same direction that Team Star went. Nebula was trying not to lose track of the blonde-haired girl and her two friends. What purpose did they have for being here? Were they hunting for Ludo too, and why do they look like people that Nebula should remember?

"Wow, this place looks _wicked_ cool," Janna had to remark on its admirable beauty.

"Primary target is Ludo: don't forget it," Upsilon reminded them of their objective. For once, Nebula had to agree with Upsilon on that and Janna figured that out just from looking at her face.

"I know that, but what's wrong with observing what's around you," the Filipino asked.

"The fact that it causes distractions, and distractions lead to delays," the robot answered.

The nightmare loving girl frowned but said nothing more as they had to travel across a gap to reach the other side.

While Nebula was carrying Janna by flying and Upsilon hovered over with them, Nebula had to be careful not to bring up who she was really trying to pursue, especially towards Upsilon. They were on the hunt for Ludo, and the last thing Nebula wanted to do was to provoke the killer robot into a killing spree just because she had the nerve to follow her curiosity.

Once they landed on the ground, Nebula continued to be lost in thought about whether that girl and her pals had some connection to Ludo and figuring out why they were possibly after Ludo too.

Of course, she was brought out of her thoughts when the barf green beanie-wearing girl got her attention.

"What the heck is_ this,_" she sounded startled.

"What's up now," the amnesiac girl felt like asking.

"The front door has been smashed down and turned to rubble." Janna was referring to the door that Andrew busted down.

"You brought us to a halt for _that_," the robot spoke with a hint of irritancy in his voice.

"No, it's just that I had a feeling that this palace would have been sealed shut to keep intruders out," she explained. "So why is the entry to the palace wide open?"

"Either because your feeling was wrong, or someone else already barged on through," Nebula retorted. "But I'm willing to go with the second reason."

"Oh, and how would you know that?" Janna raised an eyebrow.

"I have my reasons," Nebula shrugged as she stormed on through the palace with Janna and Upsilon trailing after her.

"She may have her memory loss, but she is as stubborn _and_ mysterious as ever," Janna uttered under her breath…

* * *

The Demonstrix made it to the palace at a different spot as their client was giving them their next assignment.

"Alright, here is your next mission," the client started. "A fairy is lost deep within this palace. You have to _find _and rescue that fairy."

"Hold up, let me get this straight, vee had to collect 10 oysters for first mission," Buff Frog started. "Now we must go in and rescue fairy within _this_ palace?"

"That would be correct." The client answered.

"Well, that sounds reasonable enough," the frog monster sighed. "Vee should be able to do this."

"Yeah, at least we aren't collecting 10 of something this time," Tom remarked before glowering in Archibald's direction.

"Hey, if you guys haven't had ran off on me, you would have seen me collect those oysters," the gargoyle defended.

"It's one thing to have had possession of 10 oysters the whole time," Tom huffed. "But throwing them on top of us was really uncalled for! One of those oysters got stuck on my right horn!"

"And one oyster pinched me on the rear end," Buff Frog agreed, pointing to his hindquarters for emphasis.

"I was just trying to help," Archibald told them.

"Just forget about it," the demon prince sighed. "Right now we _need_ to rescue this fairy that's lost in this palace as our untrustworthy client requested."

"I'm with Tom on this one." Buff Frog agreed.

"Okay, let's get _going_," Archibald said slowly as the three of them entered the palace.

They didn't get too far before they ran into some monster guards in the palace, but these guards were fast asleep. Buff Frog got the demon and the gargoyle to stop when he saw them sleeping.

"Listen, comrades, they're asleep," he told them softly. "So stay quiet and move slowly."

"This means _you, _Archibald," Tom whispered.

"Wha-!"

"Hush," Buff Frog covered his mouth. "I'll take the lead. Just stick close and let me handle this."

"You sure you can handle this," the demon muttered.

"Of course," the frog monster whispered. "I've been trained in this field of work. I had even managed to get into underground mine underneath corn field on Mewni."

"Well if you say so."

They managed to tiptoe as Buff Frog lead the way with his partners following him. Because Buff Frog wasn't wearing shoes, he was able to get by without making a squeaky sound. Tom on the other hand…

"Jeez Tom, what do you use to polish shoes," Buff Frog hissed softly. "Some type of oil?"

"I polish them regularly," Tom hissed back. "And I _try_ to keep mine looking great."

"You forget that I'm not wearing shoes, and they'll wake up sleeping monsters."

"Archibald would wake up the monsters and he's with us."

Archibald was heard yelping and he squirmed. His yelp was loud enough to start to draw the monsters' attention, but it was Buff Frog's response that really _blew_ it.

"Whadda ya doing," he bellowed. "BE QUIET!"

This caused the monsters to wake up and snap to. Once the Demonstrix noticed this, they then took a run for it through the palace as the three of them were being chased through the palace by a bunch of monsters…

* * *

"I told you didn't _I_ Star," Andrew grumbled as Team Star was fighting off some more Craw monsters, as Andrew predicted.

"I never said I doubted you, Andrew," Star remarked coyly before summoning a Narwhal Blast on one of the monsters.

"Well what makes you think you can wander into this palace that's flocked with these monsters as if you are taking a vacation somewhere," Andrew queried as he punched another monster and then picked it up and tossed it towards a second monster.

"Come on Andrew, these monsters are not any more threatening than the monsters Marco and I face on a regular basis," Star used her wand to fire a Rainbow Fist Punch on another monster. "Isn't that right Marco?"

"Yeah, that's about right Star," Marco had karate chopped another monster before kicking it with his shin and then his foot. The Latino then grabbed another Craw monster by the arm, turned around and threw the monster onto the ground.

Star then finished them off by firing a Cupcake Blast at the remaining monsters, causing them to be defeated as they vanished.

"See, that was a piece of cake," Star grinned before traveling through the palace some more.

"No kidding," Andrew huffed before he chased after Star with Marco behind him.

Andrew had to get in front so he could punch down the stone walls that stood in their path so they could pass on by. The three of them noticed that the walkway was lined with fountains that took the shape of a Narwhal's tail, giving the place an oceanic feel. Several statues of ancient times were also placed conveniently throughout the palace.

It didn't take long for them to reach the ledge that they had to go up towards.

"Well I would climb up this wall myself, but Star wouldn't approve of that," Andrew muttered.

"I've got this Andrew," Star then started to fly off the ground. "Just grab my hands and we'll go up!"

"As long as I'm not carried upside down this time," Andrew grabbed onto Star's hands. "Alright, now where's Marco?"

"I'm coming guys," the Latino didn't waste a second when he grabbed Andrew's feet and then Star brought them up towards the ledge.

Once they got up, Marco and Andrew jumped off before Star landed onto the ground, taking the lead afterward. Marco noticed some of the pillars were beginning to crumble and had to warn Star about them.

"Watch out Star, the stone pillars on_ both sides_ of the path are about to crumble," he hollered to her so she could hear him.

"Not a problem Marco," she hollered back. "I've got this!"

"Of course you do," Andrew yelled before Star then went and slid right under the crumbling pillars and got by safely.

Andrew had to smash the fallen pillars so he and Marco could get by them since they couldn't slide under them. Once they caught up to Star, the Mewni princess noticed the most peculiar thing in front of her; a giant red color balloon, and behind it was a giant fan on the floor that was running.

"Hey guys, look at that!" She squealed and pointed.

"Is that a balloon," Andrew gawked.

"It looks like it is," Marco nodded. "And it's a _large_ balloon to be exact."

"I wonder why it's here," Star proceeded to think about this occurrence.

"Oh no, guys we have a _problem,_" Andrew noticed the current of the fan is an obstacle that they have to get by. "The current from this fan is really strong so none of us can fly or climb up the wall with it running."

"Wait, so that means we have to…" Star started to figure it out.

"Yes," Andrew nodded with shame. "It means we'll have to take the big balloon to go up the current from this fan."

"So that's why this balloon is here," the karate master deduced. "It's a type of gimmick meant to get us by this area."

"In that case, I'm all for riding the balloon up this fan!" Star chirped before grabbing the balloon with Marco grabbing onto Star afterward.

"Doesn't look like we have a choice," Andrew sighed as he then grabbed Marco by the waste before Star got the balloon underneath the fan.

As predicted, the balloon was brought up by the fan as they were soaring from a huge height thanks to the balloon they were hanging onto. After passing by a couple more running fans, the trio found a good landing spot below as Star had released the balloon and proceeded to gently get Andrew and Marco back onto the ground. When the three of them were back on their feet, they were quite astounded by that feature.

"Yahoo, that was an awesome lift you guys," Star whooped.

"It was _pretty_ fun," Marco smiled.

"I'll admit, it was quite an experience," Andrew cracked a smirk. "I'm just glad it got us by the area we needed to cross."

"Yeah, I'll admit, they have some crazy things located at _Quest Buy_," Star stretched her arms. "But I didn't expect to find something like _that._"

"Speaking of which, you don't suppose that the balloon we just took a lift off of originated from _Quest Buy_?" Marco questioned.

"It's possible, but I also doubt it," Andrew shrugged. "Because I have a feeling that this isn't the last we'll see of that balloon."

"In that case, we'll be more than ready to take a lift on another one that we'll encounter right guys?" The princess gleamed.

"Right Star," both the karate expert and treasure hunter nodded their heads as the three of them came across another door to barge open.

"Well, here's another door," Star smirked. "Alright Andrew, you know what to do."

"I'm all over it," Andrew cracked his knuckles before punching the door down and breaking it into pieces.

Once that was done, they continued onward while taking out any more monsters that came in their path…

* * *

Team Sparkle had also arrived at the same palace that the three other teams were located at. They ended up at a different entrance of the palace as they took a good gander of the place.

"Wow, this is a beautiful looking palace," Daron admired its sheer beauty.

"Gurl, we're not here to sightsee," Pony Head reminded. "We're on a mission."

"I know that," the nerdy girl nodded as she entered with Pony Head and Jackie entered the palace.

They then came across some more Craw monsters that had ambushed them.

"Oh for goodness sake, more monsters for us to face," Pony Head groaned before zapping some of them with some beams from her horn. Daron followed and hit at least two of them with her fake wand.

"You know dudettes," Jackie had karate chopped another monster in the face. "I have to wonder where all these monsters are coming from."

"Well Jackie, the answer to that question is simple," Daron started while she smacked a monster in the face with her fake wand. "The large presence of monsters in this dimension means that Ludo is behind all this and has invaded this dimension, which would also explain why Star and her partners-in-crime Marco and Andrew are here too."

She then gained a confused looked before she continued.

"But what confuses me is that I had heard a rumor that Ludo retired from evil indefinitely after what happened five months ago, which leads me to wonder why he came out of retirement all of a sudden." She exclaimed.

"Yeah gurl, I had heard about Ludo's retirement from evil too and it was around the same time B-Fly vanished for five months," Pony Head was quick to respond. "But if you ask me, I'm willing to guess that Ludo is going after B-Fly's wand again, just like old times."

"Perhaps, but I'm not sure," Daron rubbed her chin in confusion. "There has to be more to it than just Star's wand."

"Wait a minute, you girls just said _Ludo_, right," Jackie questioned as they both nodded. "I swear I've heard of Ludo from _somewhere_ before…"

"Trust me, Jackie," Daron smiled. "You'll know who Ludo is when you see him for yourself."

"I suppose so."

Once the monsters were handled, the three of them trekked through the palace, encountering most of the same problems that Team Star had dealt with.

"Girls, these pillars look like they could collapse on us at any minute," Daron warned her teammates. "We better watch out for them."

"No worries gurl, I've got this," Pony Head blasted some of the standing pillars that were in front of them with her horn.

"You know, it looks like someone has already been here," Jackie took note of some of the pillars already being spliced into rubble.

"That was probably thanks to Star and her partners," Daron declared. "And that means we haven't lost sight of her yet."

"I certainly hope so."

Once Pony Head cleared the pillars in their path, they then ended up encountering the same balloon that Team Star used to go up the fan current behind it.

"Is that a balloon," Daron asked.

"It looks like it, and it's a large balloon at that," Jackie figured. "And there's a fan on the ground running behind it."

"Gurls are you thinking what _I'm_ thinking," Pony Head came up with an idea.

"Yeah, we can use this balloon to go up the current from that fan," Daron answered. "It should get us by this area."

"In that case, I'LL GRAB IT FIRST," Pony Head yelled before grabbing the balloon string with her mouth. Daron and Jackie followed suit by grabbing onto Pony Head.

"Ready for this Jackie," the Star fan asked.

"Whenever you girls are," she smirked.

"Then let's get this show on the road!" The floating unicorn head shouted before getting the balloon under the fan.

The balloon then guided them across the other fans that were down below as the three girls found this to be exciting. It didn't last long when they found clear ground nearby and Pony Head let go of the balloon before slowly lowering herself to allow Daron and Jackie to land on the ground safely.

"Yahoo," Pony Head cheered. "Wasn't that awesome or what gurls!?"

"It was definitely exhilarating and fun." Daron smiled.

"It was _radical_ Pony Head," Jackie grinned. "It's definitely worth the experience."

"I sure hope so, because now we have to continue on through this palace." Pony Head guided them through the palace.

As they were roaming through the palace, they took in their surroundings and admire the sheer beauty that existed in it.

"Wow dudettes, this place looks amazing," Jackie admired its appearance. "I'm getting a strong mermaid vibe just from standing in the presence of this palace."

"Well this is a _sea_ palace after all," Daron pointed out. "It's only natural to feel such a vibe in a place like this."

"I have to wonder how this place was built," the floating unicorn head wondered as she guided her teammates through the palace. "Whoever built this place must've had a knack for stones and pillars, and was clearly trained in constructing this place."

* * *

"EXTERMINATE; FIRE, FIRE!" Upsilon blared out as he was blasting away more monsters that stood in his path.

"Upsilon, must you shout that every time we enter a takedown with monsters," Janna shook her head.

"Affirmative: Must eradicate them _all!_" The robot simply said as he kept firing away.

"Just watch where you're shooting at Upsilon," Nebula barked. "Feel free to use _Janna's hat_ as some target practice but don't use _my_ head!"

"Hey," Janna suddenly yelled as she couldn't believe Nebula just said that about her hat. Nebula gave her a bittersweet shrug in return. "Ugh, Nebula…why do you do _that?_"

"Do _what_ exactly?"

"You know…be _frustrating_," Janna hissed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Janna," Nebula brushed her off coolly. "I know you want to help me recover my memory, and I appreciate that, but until I get my memory back, you'll have to put up with me being 'frustrating' as you say I am. I don't exactly know what you want _me_ to be."

"Well you wouldn't act this way if you knew who I was personally," Janna sneered as she then stomped off after Upsilon, who ran off after the monster assault to see if he could find more monsters to shoot down. Nebula just stared off and shook her head.

"She's _crazy,_" she mumbled before following after them.

The dreadful team continued in silence, with Nebula mulling, Upsilon blasting away and Janna taking this silence as a chance to glance around the palace. It looked old and was ready to come crashing down, but there was no denying the magnificence of this palace.

"Imagine if there were some supernatural artifacts in this palace," Janna muttered under her breath while smirking. "I would take _them_ in a heartbeat."

They also passed by cracked pillars that were in the way. Janna was about to warn her teammates, but knowing them, they could handle it themselves, so she kept quiet. Just as she predicted, Upsilon managed to crumble the cracked pillars with his arsenals and they were brought down. They had noticed the pillar in the center that was split into two.

"Must have cracked when it landed," Upsilon blurted out before silence returned within the team.

It didn't take long before they reached the end of the area which had a giant fan running and in front of it was the same giant balloon that Team Star and Team Sparkle used previously.

"Uh, isn't that a balloon right in front of a fan," Nebula questioned, sounding slightly amused. "What are we suppose to do with this huge balloon?"

"Sensors have indicated that we can use the heavy current from the fan that's running to our advantage by using the massive amount of helium inside the balloon to guide us over the fan and escort us to an area above," Upsilon explained. "Preparing to maintain the grip on the balloon; proceed to grab onto me when ready."

"I guess that means we have to use the balloon to get us by this area," Janna took a guess as Upsilon grabbed the balloon string.

"No doubt," Nebula huffed as she grabbed onto Upsilon's right side. "Let's get this over with."

"Right away Nebula," Janna then grabbed the left side of Upsilon as the robot got the huge balloon under the fan.

Then with the use of his hover mode, the balloon had them carried over the running fans. Needless to say, Janna was the only one enjoying this as Nebula remained stoic while Upsilon remained emotionless.

_You know, I have to wonder if this kind of balloon came from **Quest Buy**. _Janna thought, having heard about that store thanks to Star and Marco. _It's possible, but this might not be the only balloon we'll have to use._

Keeping quiet, Janna and her teammates got by the area until they found a safe spot to land…

* * *

It was shown that the Demonstrix had managed to outrun the monsters and were in another part of the palace. Once they caught their breath, they had to wonder if they lost the monsters.

"I think vee lost sight of monsters that were chasing us," Buff Frog exclaimed.

"Yeah, it looks like we did," Tom didn't see them in sight.

"Good riddance," Archibald huffed. "I'm glad we lost them."

"Yes, but now we have to go up," the demon prince pointed up a cliff. "If we want to have any hope of rescuing this fairy, we'll have to get up there."

"Yeah, for fairy's sake, we shall go up," Buff Frog started by leaping up the cliff, with Tom levitating after and then Archibald flew after them.

Once they got to the higher portion, they noticed how many of the pillars have been taken down and how torn up it looked. All while they were on the lookout for the fairy that they have to save.

"Wow, this place took quite a beating," the gargoyle commented.

"Yeah, mainly because ruins were weakened over time," the frog monster assumed.

"I believe the both of you are right, to an extent," Tom exclaimed. "I don't know if you noticed this, but this place reminds me of the Monster Temple that's located back on Mewni."

"And said Monster Temple was one of Ludo's hideouts at one point if I can recall…"

"Exactly Buff Frog and this palace, in particular, look like it was sacred," the demon prince continued. "But since it's been torn down, I can assume that this place was already visited by some people."

"So you're saying vee are _not_ only ones in palace?"

"Most likely, unless something else happened."

"Who knows who could have explored this place," the gargoyle took a guest. "Perhaps it was the Knuman clan of treasure hunters, scavengers, someone who has a fetish for supernatural artifacts, anyone in particular."

"Whoever it vas," Buff Frog concluded. "They certainly let such beauty go to waste."

"Certainly, and we're only here since we need to rescue that fairy," Archibald remarked.

Buff Frog and Tom nodded as the Demonstrix continued through the palace to locate the fairy they are looking for…

* * *

"Okay, I'm the first one who has to ask, but why is this place so bared down," Andrew wondered as Team Star started to walk down the hallway he uncovered for them.

"I honestly wish I knew the answer to that Andrew," Marco admitted, which surprised Andrew.

"There's something you don't know about?" Andrew looked confused.

"Hey, I don't know everything, Andrew! As I said earlier, there was no information on this palace at all from searching it up on my phone," Marco cried out. He turned to notice that Star had gone missing. "Hey, where did Star go?"

"Don't tell me she flew off on us again…" Andrew moaned.

"I'm in here you two," Star called out from the other room as she got Marco and Andrew to enter the room she was in. The room that they had to pass through was littered with traps in all corners.

"Oh my, this place must be booby-trapped." Marco took a guess.

"It'll be a struggle to get by here," Andrew complained.

"Come on you guys," Star ensured them. "These traps are not any different from those located in the Trap Department in Quest Buy."

"Yeah, that's true," the Latino sheepishly smiled.

"Look you guys, I'm going to fly over all the traps in this room so we can press onward through this palace," Star called out.

"I wouldn't do _that_ if I were you Star," Andrew tried to warn her.

"WHEEE!" Star was already flying past the traps that were in her way with Marco and Andrew trailing behind her.

"You know Star, it would be easier if Andrew smashed through these walls for _us_," Marco called out.

"Maybe, but I feel it's easier to fly over them," Star remarked.

"This isn't just about using _flight_ you know!" Andrew grumbled.

Star ignored him and was quite confident with this when she almost rammed right into a stone wall that was in front of her. Andrew shook his head as he broke through the wall so they could continue forth. They then used another giant balloon with the same kind of fan to get by. After following the same procedure, they came across another door in front of them.

"Another door," Andrew groaned. "You got to be kidding me."

"Well, I find this to be just as much of an inconvenience as you do Andrew," Star admitted.

Andrew bashed down yet another door when Star flew past him seconds later. As Marco shook his head, Andrew started to grit his teeth.

"Ugh, not again," he sneered before he made chase after Star with Marco right behind him…

* * *

As the trio of girls continued, Daron was lost in thought about how she decided to travel with Marco and Andrew for the first time after being absent for five months.

_I wonder what convinced Star to travel again with Marco and Andrew again after being away for five months. _Daron thought. _I guess it doesn't matter now, especially since all three of us will be satisfied when we find them: Pony Head and Jackie can get their medallion and seashell necklace back, I get to see Star again as does Pony Head, and Jackie can be able to see Marco. This'll make all of us happy._

It was then Pony Head got Daron out of her deep thoughts.

"Hey Daron gurl, I hate to interrupt whatever it is your thinking, but I'd like to ask you if you could take the lead down this slope so that I don't ram into any of the pillars," the unicorn head suggested.

"Can't _you _blast them down?"

"I would, but these pillars have already been knocked down," she told her. "They're blocking parts of the slope and it'll be tough to navigate unless you take the lead."

"Oh very well Pony Head," Daron stepped up. "I'll take the lead."

"That's my gurl," Pony Head gushed as Daron lead the girls down a slope with pillars lying around.

It didn't take them long for them to get by and went down a foot of ivory stairs before they noticed that the door that was supposed to be in front of them was smashed to piece.

"Dang, looks like Star went by _here_ too," Daron groaned.

"What makes you say that?" Pony Head asked.

"The door was smashed to pieces, probably by Andrew," Daron guessed. "That treasure hunter probably bashed his way through here and allowing Star and Marco to pass on by."

"But what of the possibility that there is someone else here besides Star, Marco, and Andrew," Jackie made an assumption. "That would be pretty coincidental."

"There could be another team here beside us and Team Star?" Pony Head scrunched her face in confusion.

"Who knows, it's possible," Daron shrugged. "I mean who knows if there's anyone else roaming around this palace."

The three of them went through the doorway and continued onward…

* * *

The Demonstrix had traveled quite a bit before they encountered the same large balloon and fan that the other teams have witnessed and used.

"Cool, that's a large balloon," Archibald admired. "And there's a fan right behind it."

"You don't suppose that this balloon is used to get us by the fans that are running huh," Tom was pretty perplexed by this.

"Only one way to find out," Buff Frog grabbed a hold of the balloon. "Hold on to me comrades, and we should get by here."

Tom and Archibald obliged as they grabbed a hold of Buff Frog and the frog monster got the balloon right over the fan, causing the three of them to be sent in the air by the balloon thanks to the fan currents. Archibald was cheering at this experience, Tom was uncomfortable with how this turned out, and Buff Frog keeps trying to tell Archibald that this wasn't an amusement park ride. As soon as they found a landing, Buff Frog let go of the balloon and the three of them made it back to the ground.

"Ugh, that could have gone better," Tom shook his head.

"That was fun," Archibald cheered. "I'd like to do that again."

"Uh, that won't be necessary." Buff Frog insisted that they shouldn't.

"Well alright, but I feel that that's not the last we'll see of that kind of balloon."

"Most likely, but vee shall see."

"Hey, guys. Here come some _more_ monsters," Tom warned them as more Craw monsters were heading for them.

Deciding on using a new tactic, Buff Frog decided on taking out what looked like some chewing gum but was actually labeled 'Prum'. He stuffed a piece into his mouth and started to chew. Tom and Archibald took notice of this and were confused.

"You're chewing gum at a time like this," Tom was the one who asked.

"Not gum. This is chewing _Prum_," Buff Frog answered. "Prum is monster variety of chewing gum."

Before they could question him further, the frog monster then finished chewing and got them onto his tongue. Taking action, he extracted his tongue quite swiftly towards the Craws feet and before they knew it, their feet were stuck by the chewing Prum that he used.

"Alright, now they can _stick_ around," he said once he finished the deed.

"In that case, we'll finish this off." Tom and Archibald then struck the monsters with fireballs and spits of acid respectively before they were taken out and vanished immediately afterwards.

As soon as they were taken care of, they were keen on moving forward.

"Now vat vill it be comrades," the frog monster asked. "Shall vee go down or up?"

"I'm willing to go down this time," Tom quickly decided.

"Down for me too," Archibald exclaimed.

"Very well, vee shall go down."

The three of them decided to descend to see if they could find the fairy that they are seeking…

* * *

It didn't take long for Team Dread to get lost within the palace as they were going all over the place. They had dodged fallen debris that was in their way and also had to take the upper route. After trashing more monsters, using more balloons to get back fan currents, and some complaining along the way, it was clear that Janna was no longer interested in this place.

"We need to get out of these ruins," Janna groaned as she was starting to feel tired.

"We aren't leaving these ruins until we find Ludo," Nebula retorted.

"What if he isn't here anymore, and speaking of which, why'd you have to bring us here Nebula?"

Nebula remained quiet for a good couple of moments or so before she started to open her mouth. Before she could speak, Janna cut her off.

"And don't you **DARE **say because you have your reasons!"

Well, shoot.

"Why _not_ come here," Upsilon spoke up. "This particular palace would serve as a decent hideout for the Avarian we are after; if he was to plan something on this coastal ruins dimension we're located in."

That wasn't entirely far from the truth, considering that Ludo did hide out in a temple at one point.

"There's your answer Janna," Nebula gestured towards Upsilon after he gave that explanation.

Janna just grunted in aggravation as she started trudging again. However, she came to a stop when she noticed a glimmer in the grass nearby.

"Huh, what's this," she approached the glimmer in the grass and found that the source was a gold colored key. This actually surprised Janna for a moment or so before she snatched it.

"Well, this may not be Marco's house-key, but it's still a keeper," she smirked. "I think I'm going to keep this baby; maybe it'll go to something we find in this palace."

As soon as she pocketed the key, she caught up to her two partners. By then, they were taking on some more Craw monsters and bat monsters that came in their path. As Nebula shot down a bat monster with her wand, she noticed that she showed up.

"Hey, since you finally showed up, would you mind giving us some assistance with these monsters?"

"I'm all over it," Janna took out her hairdryer and charged for one of the monsters and clonk one on the head with the hairdryer before kicking the other one that charged for her. It was clear Upsilon had cleared out all the monsters that got in his path as all the monsters they took out suddenly vanished.

Once that was taken care of, they headed up the stairs and noticed that the door was already broken down. Nebula noticed this and looked over her shoulder towards Janna who was trying to hide a smirk.

"Well, are you going to ask why this door has been demolished?" The amnesiac girl questioned.

"No," she replied with no hesitance.

"Fine then," Nebula didn't ask her any other questions as the three of them pressed forward…

* * *

Team Star had rushed throughout the palace when they sprinted over a ramp, which took them to a group of huge turtles with blocks on their backs. This got Marco and Andrew confused as they never saw them before.

"Are those…turtles," Marco had to ask.

"And are they carrying blocks on their backs?" Andrew followed.

"Oh no Marco and Andrew," Star shook her head, apparently knowing about these creatures. "These are actually called 'Blocktles'."

"Come again," Marco and Andrew asked.

"They're called blocktles because they have blocks on their backs instead of shells," the princess of Mewni explained. "What's strange is that these creatures can be found on Mewni, and yet they also _reside_ in this dimension."

"Well, aside from that, I wonder where they are heading," Andrew rubbed his temple.

"There's only one way to find out," Marco cheered as the three of them had to take a cannon that were conveniently placed on the back of the blocktle. Star happily obliged while Andrew only followed because there was no other way off the creature. Taking to the sky, the three of them landed on another blocktle and they saw that they were still not close to dry land. As the blocktle they were on had Craw monsters on it, they had to handle them.

"I guess we'll have to keep shooting ourselves out of cannons if we ever have hope of getting back to land," Star pondered as Marco had karate chopped one of the monsters straight into the ocean where it will become a snack for the Narwhals.

"Star, do something about this monsters' shield, will ya," Andrew got her attention as he tried to smack at the monster, but was unable to do anything because the shield it was holding deflected his attacks.

"No worries Andrew, I've got this: Hurricane Force Wind!"

She then unleashed a hurricane force wind from her wand which not only caused the monster to lose its shield, but that same monster and the other monsters around him got blown off course where they fell into the ocean and they became more snacks for the Narwhals. Andrew was blown away too, but if it wasn't for Marco grabbing his hand before he fell off, he too would have become Narwhal food.

"There you go, Andrew!"

"Gee, thanks a lot," Andrew grumbled as he was dangling over the ocean with Marco holding onto him. Star noticed this display and shook her head.

"Unbelievable, I took care of that monster for you, and here you are about to take a swim? I can't believe_ this_."

_**"STAR!" **_

"I'm only kidding Andrew, don't get offended."

"Just get into the cannon," Andrew was brought back up thanks to Marco.

Before Star could say anything, Andrew grabbed a hold of the Mewni princess, ran towards the cannon and tossed her in there like a ball before he jumped in afterwards. Marco shook his head at this.

"Not again…" He groaned before heading to the cannon and jumping in afterwards for the three of them to be fired and head for the next blocktle…

* * *

Meanwhile, the Demonstrix was still trekking through the palace like it was a maze. Sadly, they had had no luck in finding the lost fairy that they had to locate. The trio remained silent for a while until they encountered another big balloon with three fans running in front of it, blowing skyward. Archibald noticed this and he grinned in Buff Frog's direction, essentially saying 'I told you so'.

"Ha, I told you we would run into another balloon," Archibald told the frog monster.

"So it vould seem true," Buff Frog said in return. "So vat shall we do? Should vee use it to get over fan currents?"

"Ugh, I'm not going to enjoy this," Tom groaned. "Do you think we should go _back_?"

"This is only way by, comrade Tom."

"Very well," the demon prince groaned as he got onto Buff Frog along with Archibald as he grabbed the balloon and it got them over the running fans in front of them.

Once they made it to the other side, they approached a flock of stairs. At the top was a peculiar statue. Said statue took the shape of a gargoyle, which got Archibald's attention as he flew towards it.

"Hey guys, look what I found," he called out to them. "It's a statue shaped like a gargoyle!"

Buff Frog and Tom got a good glimpse of it before going up the stairs to regroup with Archibald.

"It vould appear so Archibald."

"So what's so great about it?" Tom questioned. "It's just a gargoyle statue."

"I don't know, but my gargoyle instincts tell me that it's important!" The gargoyle declared.

Before anything else could be said, Archibald touched the statue and caused a ray of light to emerge from the gargoyle statue's hands. The bright light ended up sucking in the Demonstrix and caused them to be teleported to another area in the palace.

"What the heck just happened?" The demon prince was confused by this phenomenon.

"I think that the statue teleported us to another location," the gargoyle looked at his surroundings. "But I do believe we're still in the palace."

"Question is; vhere in palace," Buff Frog rubbed his chin. "And more importantly did we miss fairy that needs rescuing?"

"I don't think so," Tom observed. "I believe we're on top of this structure."

He then heard something above them, but they couldn't tell if it was a fairy or not.

"I definitely hear something up there," the demon prince pointed out. "I can't tell if it's a fairy or not, but it might be a lead at least."

"In that case, let's get going," Buff Frog announced as Tom and Archibald went up there to see what it was. Buff Frog was preparing to leap up after them, but he then stopped at the last minute when his comrades came back down and had him abort the investigation. Buff Frog then heard some voices above.

"Quick, in here," he pointed to a hiding spot where the three of them stayed in the shadows. Archibald couldn't help but peak his head out to see what it was…

* * *

Once they landed on the next blocktle, Team Star was unanimously glad to see their means of escape in the form of a ramp instead of another cannon. Star had unleashed rainbow fist punches and cupcake blasts at any monster that stood in her path as she continued on with her allies. They then landed on the next blocktle as Andrew took the lead, plowing through the monsters with his bare hands, clearing the way for Star and Marco.

"Well, now we know where the blocktles are heading," Star pointed out as they ended up in the next part of the palace. "But now my question is why?"

"Perhaps it's a migration pattern, I guess," Marco shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, it's definitely a migration pattern," Andrew concluded.

It didn't take long for them to end up encountering another big balloon and fan.

"Well, here we go again," Andrew sighed. "It's time to use the balloon to get over the currents."

They followed the same procedure as before and ended up on the upper part of the area.

"That never gets old," Star cheered as she let go of the balloon along with Marco and Andrew. "Too bad we can't use the big balloon to get to the top of this thing."

"Why would we need to get to the top of this thing?" Marco felt like asking.

"Why not," Star suggested. "It's the only way we can get by, and plus there's nothing else but ocean up ahead."

"Well what could be possibly waiting for us at the top though," Andrew wondered.

"Only one way to find out," Marco declared as Star flew up and grabbed him who grabbed Andrew afterwards and the three of them ascended. Marco felt something staring at him, but shook off the feeling. "I just hope we can get out of this palace as soon as possible."

* * *

The team that the Demonstrix saw was Team Star, as Archibald couldn't get a good glimpse of them when Buff Frog pulled him back down.

"D'you vant whoever that vas to see you," Buff Frog snapped.

"You came _this_ _close_ to giving ourselves away Archibald," Tom sneered.

"I was just curious," Archibald defended. "You never know _who_ you may run into."

"Well anyway, I think we're good now," Tom saw no sign of anyone in sight. "We can continue our search for the fairy."

"Thank goodness," Buff Frog stepped out into the open with his comrades behind him. "Alright, let's get to top and see if vee can find fairy."

"Alright," Archibald cheered.

The three of them then ascended upwards with no more interference…

* * *

Team Sparkle had made their way through the palace and ended up in the same blocktle area that Team Star was in.

"Wow, look at all those huge turtles, and they have blocks on their backs," Daron admired the scenery.

"Ah no gurl, those are called blocktles," Pony Head corrected. "Blocktles are turtles with blocks on their back and take up residence on Mewni, but I guess they reside in this dimension too."

"Yeah, I get what you're saying Pony Head." Daron understood what she meant.

"Well I think it's pretty cool," Jackie smiled.

"Hey gurls," Pony Head directed them to a nearby cannon. "There's a cannon over here, let's try it out."

Daron and Jackie obliged as they approached the cannon with Pony Head and they jumped into it. They were quickly launched onto a blocktles back, but this one had some monsters on it.

"Heads up girls, this blocktle has monsters on it," Daron took out her wand and started smacking it into the monsters.

"I'm way ahead of you," Pony Head charged her horn until it fired some laser beams at some of the other monsters.

Jackie found herself being cornered by 2 monsters, but she took care of them with two karate chops to their faces. She then went and kicked another one with her foot before using her shin to kick a fourth monster that came for her.

Daron had witnessed her fighting and _knew_ it was vaguely familiar to her. With a smile, Daron felt like asking her to confirm her suspicion.

"Jackie, you learned how to fight with karate from Marco, didn't you?" She asked him with a smirk.

"You know it," the skateboarder girl nodded before taking out the last monster with a karate chop.

"I knew that you had to have learned that kind of fighting from the Earth Turd," Pony Head admitted. "But my question is _why_ did he teach you karate?"

"Beats me," she shrugged. "He _wanted_ to teach me, and I was happy to allow him to do so."

"That sounds fair enough," Daron nodded before they went into another cannon and blasted off to another blocktle.

After traveling through all the blocktles, Daron then started remembering something: she knew that Marco had been crushing on Jackie for a really long time, but there was something else that she remembered too: the time where Star announced her crush on Marco.

"Hey guys, something else just came back to me while I'm thinking of it," Daron started. "I remember the time where Star said that she has a crush on Marco, except now she doesn't feel that way about him _anymore_. She had told me that it was a passing phase that she had gone through; a _personal_ phase that she does not like discussing with anyone."

"Oh yeah, I remember _that_ too, and I'm aware that she doesn't like him like _that_ anymore," Pony Head remarked. "And she doesn't like to talk about that phase either, but she still sees him as a close friend."

"Yeah, Marco told me about her _phase._ I'm glad that she's doing alright, and that Marco still _likes_ me," Jackie smiled. "So anyway, do you see Star in the distance?"

"No, but I have a _better_ plan for us to follow," Daron announced. "We're going to go and hunt down Ludo because if we find Ludo, we're bound to find Star and her friends."

"Aw yeah, that's a pretty awesome idea girlfriend," Pony Head liked the plan that she had in mind. "Let's go find Ludo!"

"Yeah, that's a wicked cool plan Daron," Jackie said. "Then I can see what Ludo looks like."

"Excellent, let's get going girls!"

With that, the three girls got through the rest of the palace so they could hunt down Ludo which could bring them to Star…

* * *

As Team Sparkle left the blocktle herd, Team Dread had entered the area with the blocktles, not knowing what they really were. Janna took notice of the blocktles for herself.

"Hey, where are those turtles going with blocks on their backs," Janna asked.

Upsilon had his sight set on something else.

"Numerous Ludo monsters detected: Preparing to exterminate and destroy!"

Janna and Nebula were confused by that as they looked from the back of the blocktle they were on. The only way off was by a cannon.

"It's too bad that I can't teleport myself across," Nebula huffed as she jumped into the cannon with her partners; unaware that she_ can_ teleport, but she just doesn't remember it yet.

The cannon suddenly fired without warning, sending the dreadful team through the air. Janna was having fun with it while Nebula looked indifferent. When they landed on another blocktle, they saw that it had some monsters…ones that were already defeated.

"This one is full of monsters," Janna yelped.

"But it looks like someone demolished them before I could get to them," Upsilon felt envy that someone else took them out first before he did. Upsilon took it upon himself and kicked one of the knocked out monsters into the ocean, where the monster became a Narwhal feast.

Meanwhile, Nebula was staring off at the mass of monsters that stood ahead of her, but she took notice of something that wasn't a monster. It was a robot who was staring in Nebula's direction. Nebula turned and blinked before looking again, only to see that the robot was gone.

"That was very peculiar…" Nebula uttered to herself as she then went and punched one of the monsters' lights out…

* * *

"For goodness sake, what _doesn't _need to be broken in this place," Andrew whined as he punched through several more collapsing traps in a row.

"I don't know," Star answered. "But we sure made quite a bit of a mess of this place."

"Yeah, I know," Andrew deadpanned.

"But what I can't understand is why we haven't located Ludo yet," Marco questioned.

"I think we're pretty close," Star exclaimed. "His hideout must be nearby. I can feel it, I'm sure of it."

"Guys, something tells me we should go up there," Andrew pointed to an upper area with a spring that could bounce them up there.

"Great eye you had there Andrew," Star smiled. "Let's go!"

The three of them jumped onto the spring and were propelled up to the higher ground. The three of them ran down the path until Andrew and Marco heard some rumbling and when they saw what it was, they grew fearful. Marco then went to warn Star about the incoming danger heading their way.

"U-Uh, S-Star…?"

"Yes, Marco?"

"C-Can you feel the r-rumbling?"

"What rumbling?"

"The rumbling from the giant wheel rock that's about to crush us!" Andrew bellowed.

"You guys are probably trying to get back at me for unintentionally leaving you earlier."

"Trust me Star, I'm still plotting sweet revenge for _that_, but it'll never happen if I'm a flattened pancake!"

Star quickly turned around and saw the giant rock shaped like a wheel heading for them, with its large shadow casting over them. Star grabbed Marco's hand and Andrew's hand as she ran faster.

"Well, looks like this place has one last surprise for us," Star cried out.

"Yeah, just a surprise," Andrew groaned. "So what's your plan on getting us out of here, _Indiana Star_?"

"I've got just the thing," she told them. "Just hold on."

She then sprouted her wings and started to fly at a fast speed, although the rock was able to keep up with her.

"And I thought that truck was bad," Star groaned.

As she continued flying, another giant rock came out of nowhere.

"Star, there are two rocks now!" Marco cried out.

"Oh no," Andrew yelped. "It looks like its buddy has joined the party!"

"Well, this is _one_ party I'm _not _enjoying you guys!" Star declared before she flew faster.

"That's wonderful news," Andrew huffed. "Just get _us_ out of here!"

"No problem Andrew, we'll get away from these rocks!" Star then increased her flying speed tenfold.

Before anything could be said, Star managed to fly out of there and out of range from the rocks. It took them a few minutes before they reached solid ground.

"Tell me that we've gotten out alive," Andrew had to make sure his hat was on his head. To his relief, it was.

"We sure have," Star grinned. "Now we just have to hunt down Ludo."

While she was no longer flying, both Andrew and Marco wanted her to let go of their hands, but she declined.

"Look you two, I'll stop once we see Ludo in the distance," Star told them. "I promise both of you."

"By then, my arm will be ready to fall off," Andrew complained.

"I just hope she knows what she's doing," Marco hoped.

The three of them continued to trek forward with some hope of finding Ludo soon…

* * *

Once Team Dread got done with the monster business (or what was _left_ of them), they took their leave and put the blocktles behind them. Janna was actually curious as to where they were heading, but Nebula managed to make her get back on track by tugging her.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized. "I got distracted, now we got to focus on finding Ludo."

"Upsilon is the one who's crazed about hunting down Ludo," Nebula told her. "Ludo isn't the only person who I could get my memory back from."

"Well, that is true…" Janna spoke hesitantly, looking slightly guilty. Part of her wanted to spew out everything she knew about Nebula right to her face. On the _other_ hand, if she did that, would that mean anything to Nebula if she could recall it at all?

"I just _wish_ there was more I could do," Janna said truthfully.

"I know, but I do have to wonder…why," Nebula was curious. "You just met me and suddenly you're all for helping me out…why though?"

"Well…I have my reasons," Janna smirked and teased as she used a similar tone to Nebula as she walked away after Upsilon. Nebula stood and blinked for a minute before she shook her head.

"Yeah, she's _definitely_ crazy," she said as she followed after her teammates…

* * *

After quite a bit of travel, the Demonstrix had finally found the fairy that needs rescuing; that was trapped in a cage and guarded by Ludo's monsters.

"There's the fairy we're hunting for," Archibald pointed out. "And it's being guarded by some monsters."

"You know," Buff Frog noticed something suspicious. "Those monsters smell like Ludo's monsters."

"Ludo's monsters," Tom grew wide-eyed at that. "What makes you think those are Ludo's monsters, and what would Ludo want with a fairy?"

"Doesn't matter; vat matters is vee save fairy," Buff Frog then grew a smirk as he had the perfect solution. "You comrades thinking what I'm thinking?"

Tom already knew what he was referring to and groaned.

"No, you're not talking about…?"

"Yup," Buff Frog nodded before yelling. "MONSTER RECITAL!"

"Yay, my favorite kind of recital," Archibald whooped.

"Oh goodness, here we go," Tom grumbled.

**A FEW SECONDS LATER:**

It was then the Demonstrix was about to perform their recital. Tom was playing a red electric guitar in a poor manner, as he had a deadpan annoyed look on his face.

"_Man I __**hate**__ this instrument," _he muttered under his breath.

Nearby was Archibald who was playing the marching drums with the goofiest look on his face that you could have ever imagined. It looked like he was enjoying it.

Tom and Archibald were playing their instruments in front of the monsters who were confused. Suddenly, Buff Frog jumped down in between his comrades with a microphone in his hands. Before they knew it, the frog monster started roaring and bellowing into the microphone in such an obnoxious manner as the three of them performed really terribly. It was clear that the monsters thought this was an obnoxious performance as they placed their hands over where their ears would be.

In fact, the performance was so bad, that it caused the monsters to _blow up _from earache. And it was possible that the fairy in the cage had gone deaf too.

"That vas truly amazing comrades," Buff Frog put away the microphone.

"Yeah sure, whatever," Tom put away the electric guitar. "Now how do you suppose we free this fairy from this cage?"

"Like this," Archibald took his marching drum and slammed it on top of the cage before bashing it with the drum sticks. Needless to say, this _didn't_ work.

"Maybe that's not how to do it after all," Archibald put away the drum.

"This is how ya do it, comrades," Buff Frog then took his hands and made two fists. He then went over and slammed the fists onto the cage, causing it to break apart and allowing the fairy to be free.

"Alright, we did it," Archibald cheered as Tom grabbed the fairy and informed the client that they completed the mission.

"You were perfect," the client told them. "Excellent job you guys!"

Tom was about to say something when Buff Frog snatched the talkie and spoke into it.

"That's how ve do it."

As Tom and Buff Frog were trying to get to talk to the client, Archibald saw something going on down the path. His head tilted as he saw a girl running with two boys. He also saw a nerdy looking girl, a floating unicorn head and a tan-skinned light blonde haired girl with an aqua streak on her left side.

"What's going on down there?"

He took a closer look and the next thing he saw was something he wasn't expecting.

"Is that Ludo Avarius?" The gargoyle cried out.

Tom, Buff Frog, and the client ceased the chatter as they looked in the direction Archibald was looking in. The gargoyle was flailing around and unable to control himself.

"Ludo's over there, flying on a bat monster, and I think some people are going after him!"

"What people," now Buff Frog looked curious as he gave the talkie to Tom before heading next to Archibald and taking out a pair of binoculars.

Sure enough, Ludo was patrolling the place on a bat monster, but what caught his attention were the pursuers. It had only been visible for a few seconds, but it was long enough for the frog monster to register who was down there.

"It's Star, STAR!" He wailed as he dropped the binocular. "Vee have got to beat her to Ludo!"

"Why should we go down there and get involved," Tom snorted. "Whatever Ludo is doing is none of our business."

"But it is," Buff Frog told him. "Vee has been left with no job for 5 months, and vee can't let her undo that."

"More importantly," the client got _involved_. "He's got something planned, and whatever it may be needs to be put to a stop."

"But what confuses me is that I thought Ludo retired from evil 5 months ago," Archibald pointed out. "What's more is why is he riding on a bat monster? Doesn't he prefer that giant spider and eagle as companions."

"Maybe he decided to _mix_ it up a bit and go back to the basics," Tom suggested. "Just to relive old times perhaps…?"

"Well, it doesn't matter," the client continued. "If he's patrolling the area and locking up an innocent fairy, he must be up to something bad. Now hurry along and get moving!"

"Come on comrades," Buff Frog put away the talkie. "Vee got to get to Ludo before Star does."

Without any more retorts, the three of them decided to take off and join the other groups in the chase after Ludo…

* * *

Team Dread was now in a slightly better spirit than they were when they first started. They had used a big balloon to get through several running fans as this helped them reach the top. Once they were up there, Nebula knew that they had to go up there as Upsilon activated his jet booster to go up.

"Nebula, let's go up there," Janna pointed.

"I've got you," Nebula grabbed Janna by the arm and flew her up there when they caught up with Upsilon.

Once they were at the top, they ran down the path until the ground started to rumble. They had encountered the same rock fiasco Team Star dealt with. However, Nebula wouldn't have noticed it until Janna shouted it out.

"Nebula, there's a giant rock wheel coming this way," she yelled as Nebula saw it for herself. Upsilon was activating his speed boosters as a result.

"Obstacle approaching: initiating evacuation speed booster mode," the robot started to speed up.

"I guess it's time I fly at top speed," Nebula sprouted her wings out.

"What about me, I can't keep up with _you_ guys," Janna pointed out. "I'll be _crushed_."

Letting out a sighed, Nebula grabbed the Filipino by the hands.

"You can hold onto me," she told her. "Just don't let go, understood?"

"Of course," she nodded.

Nebula then flew at top speed, managing to keep up with Upsilon who was speed boosting at top speed.

Unfortunately, as with Team Star, the rock was able to keep up with them as they tried to move faster. Then a second rock appeared and started chasing them.

"Oh my god, now there are _two_ rocks chasing us!" Janna cried out.

"Well, what do you know," Nebula had a bemused smirk. "It looks like things have gotten a little more interesting."

"There's nothing interesting about this predicament," Upsilon protested. "Lethal action must be taken: Activating booster speed to its _full _potential!"

"Hold on _tight _Janna," Nebula told the nightmare loving chick. "We're about to go at full speed."

"Alright," she nodded as both Nebula and Upsilon went at the fastest speed that they could go, with Janna hanging onto the former for dear life.

Needless to say, they managed to get out of bounds from the rocks and were heading back to some safe ground just up ahead.

Janna was suddenly cheering when Nebula and Upsilon made it back to the ground, feeling exhausted after what they had just gone through.

"Wow dudes, that was wicked awesome," she complimented.

"Easy for you to say, I was doing all the flying," Nebula panted. "That was quite a rush…"

"I think I need a recharge," Upsilon spoke up.

As Nebula was catching her breath, she caught something of interest just ahead of her.

It was a green glowing gem that was being kept in a cage.

"Hey guys," Nebula caught her breath and held the cage out for her partners. "Check out what I found."

When Janna got a good look at it, her eyes grew wide as she knew what it was.

"It's a Miracle Gemstone!" She shrieked before rushing over to the cage and grabbing it from Nebula.

"A Miracle Gemstone…?" Nebula was confused.

"That's right," Janna took out the key she found earlier and used it to unlock the cage and grabbed the first Miracle Gemstone. "I can't believe we found one of these!"

"That is not an ordinary gemstone," Upsilon started to explain its information.

"Yup, it's got some ultimate power, there are seven of them and when together, they create a miracle, and the Ruler Gemstone that the _cute _looking treasure hunter guards neutralize the energy from these suckers," Janna explained in one breath.

"Seven Miracle Gemstones…Ultimate Power…?" Nebula was at a daze from what Janna just explained.

Janna noticed Nebula was staring at it with amazement. Seeing that they have unnatural powers and Nebula needs to gain her memories back, Janna felt like it was best if Nebula kept the Miracle Gemstone.

"You know Nebula, I think it's best if you kept this gemstone," the nightmare loving girl gave the gemstone to Nebula. "It might actually spark something from your past and you could possibly remember something."

Nebula didn't respond as she stared into the gemstone.

"Nebula, are you alright?"

"Apparently, it must be _sparking_ something."

It was then something was triggered in Nebula's mind as a flashback from _5 months ago_ flashed before her very eyes.

* * *

_It almost looked like it was a mirror. Standing on top of a wrecked robot was Nebula, who seemed really nonchalant at the moment. She also didn't care about the blonde haired girl in front of her._

_Nebula then proceeded to take out the green Miracle Gemstone and held it high up in the air._

_"It all starts with this…a gem containing the ultimate power…" She pledged as the girl below got a close look of the gem._

_"That's the...Miracle Gemstone!" The blonde haired girl cried out._

_Nebula kept holding the gemstone up high until the blonde girl finally got her attention. Nebula took out her wand as she started to yap._

_"Now I know what's going on," the girl started to approach her. "The military and FBI have mistaken me for the likes of you!"_

_Nebula did nothing but give a blank stare in return, not even reacting to how this stranger furrowed her eyebrows and got out her own wand._

_"So, where do you think you're going with that gemstone?" She asked daringly. But she received nothing but silence from her._

_This strange girl had had enough with this as she started to dash towards her 'twin', getting ready to attack her._

_"SAY SOMETHING, YOU __**IMPOSTER!"**__ The blonde girl demanded, preparing to launch a Rainbow Fist Punch towards her imposter._

_**With pleasure, you fool.**__ Nebula wasted no time in placing the green Miracle Gemstone into her own wand and then spun it around and performed her own spell._

_"MIRACLE…__**LEVITATO!"**_

_The moment Nebula shouted that did she cause the girl to slow down. Her wand started flashing a bright green light upon that and then Nebula teleported away in an instant. She zipped right past a slowed down her opponent to show her that she wasn't a joke and that she meant business. By the time this blonde haired girl sped back up, Nebula had already teleported to the top of a nearby building. Curious and astounded by this feat, Star stopped and turned around to face this stranger._

_"Wow, she's fast," she then realized something else that had occurred. "Hey, it's not her speed. She must have used the Miracle Gemstone to warp; by inserting it into her wand and doing that thing she just did to warp away…"_

_Nebula just stared down towards her look-alike as she tossed her wand with the Miracle Gemstone in it repeatedly while catching it._

_"My name is Nebula; Nebula Dragonfly. I'm the universe's ultimate life form," feeling she spent enough time here on this planet in this dimension, Nebula decided to take her exit and put her wand to work. "There's no time for games. __**FAREWELL!"**_

_Her wand flashed a bright green light again which blinded her opponent before she teleported away. The blonde haired girl gasped as she was blinded. She saw that Nebula was gone, but where did she disappear to precisely?_

_"Whoa, Nebula…who is she…?"_

* * *

"Janna," Nebula started to ask, now feeling something flowing throughout her as the Filipino walked over to her. "Do you know what _Miracle Levitato_ is?"

Janna gasped upon being asked that question. She had witnessed it many times, but it was something that couldn't be described in words.

But more importantly, she only witnessed Nebula perform it, especially when it came to saving her life.

"I…I know of it, but what it is precisely…I cannot describe in words." The Filipino informed her.

"Really," Nebula pondered for a moment or so, not taking her eyes off of the Miracle Gemstone for a second. Well, this proved that this wasn't some dream, but if that was the case, who was that blonde haired girl who was confronting her? It was such a strange vision. "Huh?"

She looked over the edge and saw the one thing she thought she wouldn't have seen.

It was the blonde girl; the same one she saw earlier, the same one from her vision.

The hair, the face, the eyes, it had to be _her._

Nebula scowled. She knew that the blonde haired girl knew something about her, even if in the vision, she acted like she didn't. And if that wasn't enough motivation, Janna saw Ludo flying over their heads on a bat monster.

"It's _Ludo!_" Janna cried out. "But why is he riding on a _bat monster_? I thought he used a giant spider and an eagle to travel around!"

"Reason for change in monster transportation is not relevant," Upsilon was all locked and load, ready to shoot down Ludo for himself. "Exterminate and destroy!"

"Then let's _go!_" Nebula shouted before flying off after Ludo with Upsilon trailing right behind her.

"Nebula, wait up," Janna called out, but her words were met with deaf ears as she chased after her partners. "Man, I sure do have my hands _full_…"

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 2!**

**YEAH, DESPITE THE FACT THAT IS CHAPTER IS EVEN LONGER THAN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, I THINK THIS ONE IS A GREAT STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!**

**THAT'S RIGHT! THE MIRACLE GEMSTONES WILL BE FEATURED IN THIS STORY, BUT THEY'LL BE OBTAINED IN A DIFFERENT MANNER. A MIRACLE GEMSTONE WILL BE OBTAINED IN EACH OF THE II PART OF EACH DIMENSION WITH EACH GEMSTONE BEING OBTAINED BY A DIFFERENT TEAM FROM THE LAST! THIS ONE PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN SHOWING NEBULA A VISION FROM HER PAST!**

**SPEAKING OF WHICH, THE FLASHBACK IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE FIRST STORY I DID, WHEN STAR AND NEBULA FIRST MET! HOWEVER, IT WAS TRIMMED DOWN SO IT COULD BE FOCUSED ON NEBULA'S PERSPECTIVE, AND STAR'S NAME WAS WRITTEN AS 'BLONDE-HAIRED GIRL' TO SHOW THAT IT'S SHOWING NEBULA PERSPECTIVE FROM HER POINT OF VIEW SINCE SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHO STAR IS. I DO HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND THIS.**

**WELL WITH THAT SAID, REVIEW THE STORY IF YOU LIKE TO, AND THAT'S ALL FOR NOW!**


	4. Eagle Tank

**CHAPTER 3-EAGLE TANK:**

* * *

Just outside the palace, Buff Frog, Tom, and Archibald were lucky enough to have beaten Team Star to the designated location where Ludo was about to strike at any minute. They were now on a stone path that encircled the palace as they were taking in their surroundings.

"Looks like vee did it, comrades," Buff Frog saw no Star in sight. "Vee managed to beat Star to designated location."

"Buff Frog, I think you're taking this a little too _personally_," Tom tried to intervene. "I know that this is our first job in five months, but I don't think we need to go crazy with beating Starship to Ludo _first_."

"Yeah, we got lucky this time," Archibald protested in agreement. "For all we know, Star and her friends are on their way over here as we speak. They _should _be here any moment now just to put a stop to Ludo."

* * *

**MEANWHILE…**

"STAR, YOU CAN STOP FLYING WHILE DRAGGING US ANY TIME NOW!" Marco and Andrew yelled simultaneously for Star to stop flying. After a few more seconds, Star finally came to a stop where she landed on the ground and allowed Marco and Andrew to catch their breath for a moment or so.

"Come on you two, we haven't found Ludo yet," Star told her partners. "He's got to be around here somewhere."

"Look Star, I know you're eager to stop Ludo from conquering the universe, but can we wait until we regain ourselves first," Marco panted. "I _feel_ like I'm out of breath all of a sudden."

"Same with me," Andrew huffed as he stretched out his arms and readjusted his hat.

While he was catching himself, the treasure hunter took notice of three people in the distance. He couldn't quite make them out.

"Huh, that's strange," he said. "I wonder who those guys are in the distance."

"What guys, who do you see in the distance," Star queried.

"I can't make out who they are entirely, but from what I'm seeing, one of them is a floating light blue colored unicorn head, another is a tan-skinned girl with shoulder-length light blonde hair with an aqua streak on the left side, and the last one is a nerdy looking girl who's wearing braces and has red framed glasses on…" Andrew described.

"Say what," this got Star to react to the last person Andrew described. Without warning, she grabbed Marco and Andrew again as she got them into a good hiding spot away from those people. This got Andrew upset as he had the expression to match.

"What the heck was that for," Andrew snapped. "What were you thinking Star?"

"The last person you described, that was Daron," Star revealed. "And we can't be spotted by her right now."

"What," the treasure hunter was now confused. "But I thought you _liked_ having Daron around."

"I do, but this is the _worst_ possible time for us to encounter her," the princess of Mewni exclaimed. "We don't have the time for _that_ Andrew."

As Andrew was unable to make a retort about that, Marco was lost in thought as beads of sweat were dripping down his forehead as several thoughts crossed his mind.

_Andrew had seen a tan-skinned girl with shoulder-length light blonde hair with an aqua streak on the left side? Please tell me that __**she **__isn't who I think __**she**__ is…_

These thoughts were shaken off when Andrew asked the all-important question.

"So how long do we have to hide out here for Star?"

"As long as it takes until Daron is no longer in sight."

"And…how long with that take?" Marco gulped as Star didn't answer his question.

* * *

**BACK WITH THE DEMONSTRIX:**

"Bah, no matter," Buff Frog scoffed off Archibald's theory. "Vee can handle any monster Ludo has in store for us. This'll show him that there's more than one group of heroes in universe, and they happen to be…"

"THE DEMONSTRIX!" Archibald finished for the frog monster.

Tom was about to make a retort to that, but he wasn't able to when the three of them heard the sound of a running engine behind them. They turned around and saw that it was Ludo, who was now piloting a giant hover tank that took the shape of an eagle and had 6 cannons in the front, had two wings on the side that resembled eagle wings, a blaster in the bottom center, and in the pilot seat right in the center was Ludo and perked on top of the seat was the bat monster that he was flying on before. The Demonstrix members were shocked. They were expecting Ludo to summon a _giant monster_ to go after them, not pilot a giant hover tank that looked like an eagle. All three of them were stunned at the sight before them as Ludo got a good look at them and glowered down towards them.

"So, you guys are the _ones_ who were playing games with _my_ army," the Avarian sneered, getting their attention. Even though he was piloting a hover tank, the Demonstrix had to put Ludo in his place.

"Too bad, just doing job that vee has been assigned," Buff Frog snorted before crossing his arms.

"Wait a minute, that's the _Ludo_ we've been following," Tom sounded shocked upon asking that question.

"That's Ludo…?" Archibald was at a loss from observing the eagle tank he was piloting.

"That would be correct," Ludo huffed. "Let me show you who I really am."

The Eagle Tank swooped forward right over the Demonstrix. The tank turned around and the cannons and blaster started to fire away at them.

"Ah ha, I knew it was him," the voice from the talkie shouted. "Do not hesitate to stop him!"

The Demonstrix made chase after the Eagle Tank while ignoring their client for now.

"So this is the Ludo that I've heard so much about," Tom then turned his head to glower at Archibald. "You were the one who said you saw Ludo! I didn't expect him to ride in a giant hover tank that's shaped like an eagle!"

"Hey, I'm just as surprised about this as you are Tom," Archibald defended. "I was expecting a _giant monster_ fight, **not** a giant eagle-shaped hover tank. What a psycho, for someone who Buff Frog _use_ to work for!"

"Thanks for bringing _that _up Archibald," Buff Frog retorted sarcastically, not at all proud of having served under Ludo's name at one point. "Regardless, giant monster or not, he'll be _sorry _for getting in way of the Demonstrix."

The three of them did their best to try to catch up to the Eagle Tank, but the vehicle was flying too fast for them. They weren't able to keep up with it. Right as Tom was about to ask Buff Frog what the plan to bring this vehicle down is, Archibald came up with a suggestion.

"Hey, that _eagle_ is flying way too fast for us," the gargoyle started. "Maybe if I can spit some acid on those wings that are accelerating the vehicle, I could be able to slow it down for us to catch up."

"And how do you suppose you'll be able to catch up to that vehicle if I may ask," the demon raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Buff Frog, see if you can toss me to that vehicle," Archibald turned his attention towards the frog monster.

"Vat's that got to do with slowing down tank," Buff Frog wondered.

"Just toss me and you'll see."

"Vell…okay," Buff Frog went and picked up Archibald. He then went and threw the gargoyle a good few feet away right towards the hover tank. Once Archibald was up close, he landed on the wing and grabbed a hold of it.

"Now let's see how this bird likes being slowed down in its tracks."

Approaching the circular rotary spinner on the left, Archibald went and spat some acid into the spinner before going to the right side and doing the same thing to that one. The acid caused them to short out and stop spinning, causing the Eagle Tank to slow down. Ludo took notice of this and glared at the gargoyle responsible for it.

"Ugh, what did you _do_," he snarled.

"Oh, I just went and spat some acid into your spinning propellers to get your tank to slow down," he said with pride.

"What," the Avarian was not proud of this as Buff Frog and Tom managed to catch up now that it was slowed down.

"Alright Buff Frog, do something about the two front cannons," Archibald called out.

"Got it comrade Archibald," Buff Frog headed for the cannons and decided to do something about them when he jumped on top of the tank. Taking out some chewing Prum, Buff Frog popped one into his mouth and started to chew it before getting it onto his tongue. Once that was in place, Buff Frog them zipped his tongue out to the two front cannons and got them sticky in prum. With them not being able to fire back, Buff Frog grabbed the cannons and then slammed them down before punching them. This caused the two cannons to be destroyed and no longer active to fire away with them.

"No, not my front cannons," Ludo yelped.

"Alright Tom, it's your turn," the frog monster called out before jumping off. "Attack him once vehicle stops moving and starts spinning."

"Got it, leave it to me," the demon started levitating and once the Eagle Tank stopped moving and started to rotate, Tom got himself ready. With several fireballs emerging from his hands and his eyes turning red, the demon prince started launching several fireballs towards the tank, making contact with the wings and Ludo himself. As the remaining cannons tried firing away at him along with the blaster, Tom was able to maneuver around them before throwing another fireball right in front of the seat that Ludo was sitting in, causing him to yelp.

"Ugh, how dare you," Ludo growled before his head was met with a kick courtesy of Archibald.

"It's time to concede your defeat Ludo," the gargoyle sneered.

"This isn't over," Ludo piloted the Eagle Tank away from them.

"That'll teach him," Buff Frog dusted his hands off.

"That's what you get for messing with us Ludo," Archibald jeered.

"Now it's time to drag him down to the fiery pits of the underworld," Tom snarled.

"Vait, you mean '_kill_ him'," Buff Frog was shocked by what Tom was implying. "Tom, vee are not killing him."

"Ugh…well he has to _pay_ for his crimes."

"Not by death though."

"Hey guys," Archibald wondered as the Eagle Tank started to fly away. "Is it me, or did we manage to take care of that eagle too easily?"

"Doesn't matter," Buff Frog huffed. "Vat matters is vee have put Ludo in his place, so he von't be in our path anymore."

"I don't know about that Buff Frog," Tom rubbed his chin. "This may not be the last we see of Ludo."

"In any case," Buff Frog continued as he took out his dimension scissors. "Since that's been done, perhaps vee shall head out to next dimension for client to give us next assignment."

"I guess that's our best course of action for now," Tom went with it as Buff Frog cut open a dimensional portal. "Let's get going then."

"Yeah, let's head to the next dimension," Archibald said.

"Yes, let's move out," Buff Frog nodded as the three of them went through the portal and headed to the next dimension, as the portal vanishes shortly afterwards…

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Sparkle was still waiting for Ludo to show up, as Daron could have sworn she saw Star just recently.

"That's odd, I could have sworn that I saw Star just a moment ago," Daron rubbed her chin and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, that's not all we're looking for since we are trying to find Ludo too."

"Yeah gurl, then Ludo will lead us straight towards B-Fly," Pony Head declared. "We just have to find him."

"But where could Ludo be located at this time?" Jackie had to ask.

Suddenly, her question was answered when the Eagle Tank arrived right over their heads as it descended right in front of them. The Eagle Tank was left the way the Demonstrix left it before they shoved off. Daron and Pony Head were surprised about the tank as Ludo noticed the three girls in front of him.

"So it's true," he sneered. "You _girls_ have been messing with my army too, haven't _you_!?"

"Ludo Avarius," Daron yelled and pointed in accusation. "You're up to no good again, aren't you!? I thought that you had _retired _from evil after what happened five months ago!"

"Well, rumors about my retirement were a little…_exaggerated_," Ludo confessed. "Anyway, it's great to be back to doing _evil _things!"

"In that case, what are you doing here riding in an eagle-shaped hover tank of all things you jerk," Pony Head glowered and pointed her horn towards him. "Don't tell me you've gone back to _stealing_ B-Fly's wand again!"

"As much as I have a bone to pick with Star Butterfly, she _isn't_ my top priority," the Avarian huffed. "I'm looking for someone else who stormed into my castle and made off with two of my top secret possessions!"

"And just _who_ are you looking for exactly Ludo?" Daron sneered.

"Who else could you be after besides B-Fly," Pony Head followed.

Ludo remained quiet about that.

Jackie had observed Ludo and recognized him from the couple of times she witnessed him.

"Whoa, dudettes, I _remember_ Ludo now," the skateboarder girl recalled. "I've seen him _several times_ actually."

"You have?" Daron and Pony Head were shocked by what she said.

"Yes," she nodded. "My memory is a little sketchy, but if _I _recall, I _do_ remember Ludo hijacking the bus that held Brittany Wong's birthday party; the one Star and Marco crashed."

"Ah yes, that's right," Daron recalled Star telling her about that instant. "Wasn't that the _same _time where Marco was getting motion sickness?"

"Yes, because he was getting carsick and puked his guts out along with the person in that tank in front of us," Jackie continued. "I also remember the time where Star and Janna were in a graveyard to resurrect Bon Bon before Ludo showed up and stole the spell-book. Marco and I were on our _first_ date when he told me that we had to find her."

"Ah right, that must've been _bad _for B-Fly," Pony Head remarked as she remembered Star telling her about that incident.

"And _good_ for **me**," Ludo spoke up from his Eagle Tank. "Both of those instances _did _happen and I've gotten _better_ since then, especially _after_ my 5-month hiatus. Now I'll show you girls a thing or two of what _I _can do."

"Well we'll show you a thing or two as well Ludo," Daron got out her fake wand. "Let's get him, girls!"

"I'm way ahead of you gurl-friend," Pony Head was raring to go after Ludo and teach him a lesson.

"I'm with you too Daron," Jackie then noticed something about the vehicle. "But girls, don't any of you notice that the propellers on the ends of its wings aren't rotating and have caused the tank to slow down in speed? Also, the two front cannons have been taken down too."

"Well that makes it easier for _us_ to beat Ludo," Daron started running after the Eagle Tank as Pony Head flew after her.

"I guess I'm ready for this too," the tan skinned girl got out her skateboard and helmet, and after getting herself set, she skateboarded after her partners so the three of them can trounce the Eagle Tank.

Even though the Eagle Tank was slowed down, the wings were still able to act like swords as they were then used to slice some of the pillars around them in half, resulting in the three girls having to swerve out of the way in the nick of time.

"Girls, those wings were able to slice down the pillars all around us," Daron yelled. "We almost got crushed by them!"

"I know, but…" Pony Head didn't finish as the middle row cannon started to open fire too. Luckily, she was able to fly out of the way. "There are cannons firing at us too!"

"I know that," Daron jumped out of the way of an incoming cannonball aimed at her. "We've got to do something about those cannons before we go after Ludo!"

"How are we going to do that Daron," Jackie called out as she was swerving her skateboard around pillar debris as well as ducking incoming cannon balls.

"Pony Head, do you think you can use your horn to get those cannons to stop working?" Daron questioned.

"I can try," the floating unicorn head charged up her horn and fired away at the central row cannons. To her surprise, they froze up and stopped working. "Alright, now what do you want me to do?"

"Give me a lift Pony Head," Daron held her wand up high. "I'll crush _them._"

Obliging, Pony Head rushed to Daron and grabbed a hold of her and brought her up close to the Eagle Tank before Daron jumped and landed right on the tank before bashing the two frozen central cannons to pieces with her fake wand.

"Ugh, not my _other_ cannons," Ludo howled. "You little brat, look what you've _done!_"

"I know what I've done Ludo," Daron glowered back. "You're going to learn not to mess with us."

She bashed him on the head a couple of times.

"Yeah, you jerk," the floating unicorn head flew up and poked him with his horn. "We are not to be messed with."

"Forget that," Ludo growled. "Initiate rotary attack!"

The tank stopped moving and started spinning around so he could shake the two girls off.

"Alright Jackie," Daron called out. "Now it's _your turn_ to have a go at Ludo!"

"I'm already on it dudettes," using her skateboard to aid her, she propelled from it and then went flying straight to the tank where she delivered a couple of kicks towards the Avarian and showed him that they mean business.

"Maybe _that'll_ teach you not to mess with _us_," Jackie glowered towards Ludo.

"I can't believe it," he grunted. "I've been _beaten_ by a couple of girls!"

"We are more than just _that_ Ludo," Daron snarled. "You should have stayed retired from evil if you knew what was best for you!"

"Yeah, you should just give up now while you can," Pony Head leered.

"Your only option is to give up dude," Jackie warned him.

"Well that's never going to happen," Ludo cackled as he shook the girls off the tank. "So stop your futile efforts. You'll just make fools of yourselves!"

"Huh, I think you got _that_ backward, Ludo," Star was heard right behind the tank as this got Ludo's attention, he saw the princess of Mewni with Marco and Andrew by her side. Jackie was the only one who noticed Star was right in front of them with the Eagle Tank heading for Team Star while Daron and Pony Head were oblivious to this.

"Uh Daron, I just saw…" Jackie tried to tell her but Daron interrupted.

"Huh, what does Ludo think he is, piloting a giant eagle-shaped hover tank after us instead of sending out a giant monster to _thrash_ us," she huffed. "Come on girls; let's go to the _next_ dimension."

"But Daron, I see _Star_…"

"Pony Head if you wouldn't mind cutting open a dimension portal with your scissors."

"I'm way ahead of you gurl." Pony Head cut open a dimension portal with her dimension scissors.

"But Daron…" Jackie tried to tell her but she entered the portal along with Pony Head. Taking a deep breath, she sighed.

"Never mind…" Grabbing her skateboard, Jackie made her way through the portal after them as the portal disappeared shortly afterwards…

* * *

"Wow, you certainly are one _stubborn _Avarian Ludo," Star pointed towards him as she had her wand out. It was Team Star's turn to take over where Team Sparkle left off. "I was expecting you to have summoned a giant monster after us instead of piloting a giant eagle-shaped hover tank."

"Regardless, we're not ready to give up just yet," Marco announced before getting into a karate position.

"That's the spirit Marco," Andrew cracked his knuckles as the three of them headed for the Eagle Tank.

Star flew into the air, Andrew glided through the air at the same height Star was flying, and Marco was chasing after them on foot. It was clear that by the look on Ludo's face, he was not thrilled to see Star in the slightest.

"Believe it or not Star, I really don't have the _time_ to quarrel with you, even though it's been 5 _long_ months since we last met," Ludo hissed.

"Oh, and why's _that_," Star snorted. "I'd like to think that _I'm _your number one priority girl."

"Let's just say someone invaded my castle and took off with _two _of my belongings." Ludo huffed before causing the back row cannons to open fire towards them. Star and Andrew swerved out of the way while soaring through the air, while Marco had to jump and duck to avoid the incoming cannon balls.

"Star, we have to do something about those two cannons in the rear end before we can proceed any further," Andrew instructed.

"I'm all over it Andrew," Star readied her wand as she dove down toward the right side rear cannon while Andrew dove towards the left side rear cannon.

"Alright let's do this: Rainbow Fist Punch," Star fired a rainbow fist punch from her wand towards the cannon in front of her, completely trashing it.

"Now let's take care of the other cannon," Andrew proceeded to rip the other cannon out and then crushed it into a bunch of pieces, leaving nothing but rubble in its wake.

"No, now my cannons are gone," Ludo let out a cry.

"What's the matter Ludo," Star taunted. "Got _nothing _left for me?"

"Quiet you," Ludo shook the tank in an attempt to shake off the princess of Mewni and the treasure hunter. As Andrew hung on tight, Star flew off and went to grab Marco so it would be his turn to join the fray.

"Alright Marco, it's your turn," Star flew back to the Eagle Tank with Marco in her hands.

"I'm all over it Star," the karate expert jumped onto the tank and proceeded to karate chop parts of the tank, leaving behind a bunch of dents. "Hey that's odd; this vehicle has grown rather _weak _over a certain time period."

"Well that's good for us," Andrew then went and tore off a good chunk of both wings and threw them off.

"HEY, those parts _weren't _cheap!" Ludo bellowed.

"Ah shut up," Andrew bellowed back before thinking about what Marco said. "Still Marco, the only way this vehicle had grown rather weak is if it's already been trashed by some other people; meaning someone else must have been after Ludo too."

"Wait, someone else has been after Ludo," this got Star curious as she stared at the Avarian right in the face. "Who else would want to do something like taking on our _favorite_ villain?"

"Well, wouldn't _you_ like to know," Ludo snorted.

"Yes, that's why I asked."

"Well I am not telling you anything," the Avarian sneered. "In any case, you're in _my_ way."

As he tried to shake them off, Star went and kicked Ludo in the head, which was followed by a karate chop from Marco.

"It's official," Andrew punched the front part of the tank. "Someone else is after Ludo besides _us_."

"Yes, and I'm after someone besides _**you,**_" Ludo retaliated as he managed to shake Team Star off of his tank and made his daring escape. "You haven't seen the last of me Star! This goes for you too Marco and Andrew!"

Star, Marco, and Andrew could only stare at the Eagle Tank soaring off in a brutally beaten state as they saw that they did quite a bit of damage to it. For once, Star decided to let him get away, knowing that the tank wouldn't last that much_ longer_.

"Alright guys," Star whooped with her wand in her hands. "That was a piece of cake, way too easy."

"Yeah," Andrew smirked. "That tank is clearly ready for the junk pile."

"You know guys, not only am I surprised that we had to fight a tank instead of a giant monster," Marco started. "I'm also surprised that someone else is after Ludo besides us."

"Not to mention he's looking for someone else," Andrew remarked. "But who else would he be after."

"Well in any case, whoever he's after will probably put that tank out of commission," Star put her wand away. "And they would also be doing us a huge favor too."

"You bet," Marco laughed. "So anyway Star, it's time to get out those dimension scissors so we can get to the next dimension."

"I'm way ahead of you," Star got out her dimension scissors.

"Yeah, let's get out of this dimension and go to another one," Andrew pointed out as Star cut open a dimension portal for them to enter.

"Sure thing, let's roll." The princess of Mewni gushed.

Marco and Andrew shook their heads as they entered the portal and left the coastal ruins dimension behind them as it vanished once they entered it…

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Dread was still chasing after Ludo once they saw him flying by. While Janna and Upsilon were in the back, Nebula was upfront mulling to herself. Her mind was now filled with an utter maelstrom of thoughts; she had gotten _some_ answers, but this only created _more_ questions.

"And it's all because of _this_ gemstone…" Nebula muttered under her breath as she was still gazing into the green Miracle Gemstone, not taking her mind off of it for a second. But nothing else came from gazing into it. It just didn't make sense. Who was that blonde haired girl that she saw in the vision? Why did she look important to regaining her memory? And what was her motive for doing what she apparently did?

"Ultimate power…ultimate life form…I just don't understand…"

To be able to keep up with Nebula and Upsilon, Janna decided to hitch a ride on Upsilon's shoulder while feeling bittersweet about Nebula's predicament. Whatever the Miracle Gemstone caused towards her amnesiac partner was eating at her. At first, Janna had given the Miracle Gemstone to Nebula since it could be of some _help_ to her, but now she was starting to have second thoughts about it. It was clear that it was ruining Nebula even _more_.

"He's still muttering to herself," Janna sighed. "Maybe you should hang on to the Miracle Gemstone instead Upsilon so it doesn't scar Nebula even more than it should."

"I will, but not until Nebula is ready to let it go," promised the robot.

"What if he doesn't and wants to keep it to try to get something out of it?"

"Then I will take it by force," Upsilon simply said. "Clearly violence is the only answer to everything in this era."

"Not necessarily Upsilon," the Filipino groaned.

"Scanners indicate that the Miracle Gemstones have unlimited powers that go off the charts. Perhaps a miracle will happen to Nebula, hence why they are called Miracle Gemstones," Upsilon explained. "Therefore, it would be easier if she kept the gemstone for a while so it could benefit her greatly."

"Well miracles only happen when all seven Miracle Gemstones are collected," Janna huffed. "I was pretty close to having all seven in my possession, but…I lost my chance. Then the Miracle Gemstones were used to save the universe, and instead of a miracle I was hoping to achieve, I witnessed a different and _better_ one…and lost it within the same moment."

"As per usual, you will refuse to disclose the actual identity of this 'miracle', won't you?"

Janna bit her lip upon being asked that question. "Yup…"

"It is overly complicated to comprehend the info you wish for me to process, but I seem to get enough of a satisfactory computation."

"Thanks, Upsilon," Janna thanked him. "Maybe I'll explain it to you one day when Nebula isn't around. Because I don't know how she will react to that or imagine what she would even say about it."

"You can transfer to me the information whenever the time is convenient for you."

Janna blinked for a second before smiling. "You know Upsilon, for a killing machine, you are pretty_ cool_ and a good companion to have around."

She was expecting a response, but never got one in return.

"Upsilon, are you alright?" She asked her.

"Primary target detected," Upsilon blared as Janna jumped off of him. "Destroy Ludo Avarius."

Indeed, Ludo showed up in the battered Eagle Tank that he was piloting, and was bashed by the other three teams. Needless to say, Ludo was not impressed by what Upsilon just said.

"Well, you must be Upsilon," he sneered under his breath before huffing. "Huh, is that any way to talk to your creator? Now you will witness your master's real power!"

"Ludo," Nebula suddenly replied as she broke away from the trance of the Miracle Gemstone. Instantly, she jumped right in front of the Avarian and let loose a barrage of questions.

"_Who_ am I, _who_ are you, _what _was I doing in that capsule, and _why_ can't I remember _anything_?"

"You hear that? We're talking to you Ludo," Janna barked. "Though I was expecting us to fight a giant monster instead of a hover tank like the one your piloting, which looks like it had already been trashed!"

"Regardless, this is revenge! Time to _pay_, Ludo," Upsilon drew out his weapons and was preparing to open fire on the Avarian.

"Don't kill him yet Upsilon," Nebula commanded. "Not until I've gotten my answers first!"

"We are not committing _**murder**_!" Janna scolded.

"And you three aren't getting anything from me except for a beating," Ludo roared. "You know; for _breaking_ in, _breaking_ **out**, and _breaking_ _**EVERYTHING!**_ That room was under _tight_ lockdown!"

"Heh, well your castle was clearly no match for a mischief troublemaker like yours truly," Janna smirked.

"Janna was the one who _busted_ me out," protested Nebula, siding with Janna. "And you won't tell me why I was in there in the first place!"

"That location of confinement was the equivalent of a prison," blared Upsilon. "It deserved to be destroyed!"

"And you three renegades will be destroyed!" Ludo bellowed.

"What, by that _worn_ out hover tank that looks like a _deformed hawk_?" Nebula retorted.

"I find that offensive; it's an _**EAGLE,**_" Ludo snapped. "The resemblance is uncanny!"

"Not when it has had two large chunks of it clawed off," Nebula snorted.

"Which reminds me, why are you_ even_ piloting a hover tank instead of unleashing a giant monster on us, Ludo?" Janna raised her eyebrow.

"Shut up all of you, that is _none _of your business," Ludo roared. "The Eagle Tank got into a rough encounter by three other unlikely teams that I've dealt with previously! But my goal this entire time was you three! I don't even care about _Star Butterfly_; I want to exterminate you three _brats!"_

"_Star Butterfly,"_ Janna gawked when Ludo said her name. Ludo pressed a button to unleash two big blasters from the back of the tank which started to open fire on them. Janna ducked while Nebula was out of range. Upsilon retaliated by firing back all that he had on him; from bullets to flamethrowers and arsenals and even missiles.

Somewhere in the mishmash of firearms, Ludo lost all 6 cannons, the blaster underneath was destroyed in the ongoing rampage of the killer robot, and Upsilon wasn't sure how much longer it would last as a shield.

"Whoa," Janna could only mutter in regards. "Give it everything you got Upsilon."

"Some required assistance would be well appreciated at this moment," the robot insisted.

"Wait a minute, where's Nebula?" Janna looked around just to find the dark girl.

Nebula was actually standing off to the side, gripping on the Miracle Gemstone tightly. After having been in contact with it for quite a while, she knew that it had some power to it; probably the ultimate powers that she witnessed in her vision.

Of course, since Ludo was refusing to tell Nebula what she needed to know, what would be better than to test it out now?

"And just what do you think you're doing, Nebula," Ludo barked as the dark-haired girl approached him, her wand in one hand and the Miracle Gemstone in the other. "I could destroy _you_ easily! You don't even know what you're capable of!"

"Maybe not," Nebula tossed the green Miracle Gemstone into her wand where it connected right into it before waving it around. "But I'm about to find out."

Now, how did it go again…?

"Miracle…_**LEVITATO!"**_

This only caused Ludo to laugh for a moment or so before time stopped around him and caused him to freeze up. This actually surprised Nebula.

"Did that just…freeze time?" Janna was surprised by this too.

"I believe so, but it probably won't last for much longer," Nebula stated. "To take advantage of this, since this is a teamwork effort, I already froze and you two have to do something to contribute as well."

"I have succeeded in understanding the concept," Upsilon activated what appeared to be the inferno cannon. "Inferno cannon feature has been activated: beginning open fire when ready!"

"And what about you Janna," Nebula stared at her. "Do you have something that can contribute to this?"

Janna then thought of something as she dug through her backpack before taking out her dark magic spell book and opening it up to a page.

"And what'll that do to help us?"

"I'll show you," Janna then cleared her throat and faced the frozen Avarian in the tank. "Ahem: Ominous Dreadful Black Magic Wave Blast!"

She summoned eerie ominous smog of supernaturalism, which surrounded the frozen Ludo.

"What's that suppose to do?" Nebula asked.

"Sensors picked up some unknown substance coming from this strange smog," Upsilon informed them. "Still, it could be used as a decent diversion while I unleash the inferno cannon."

"Okay Upsilon, fire the inferno cannon."

"Affirmative," Upsilon activated his booster and without warning, fired the inferno cannon right in front of the frozen Ludo who was being plagued with spooky subjects of death and supernaturalism. The contact it made dealt with just about the rest of the tank that was left.

"Time to give it up Ludo," Janna smirked as the Miracle Levitato effects started to wear off.

"The only option now is to give up," Upsilon blared as the effects wore off while Ludo resumed laughing.

"I wouldn't be laughing for long Ludo," Nebula snapped her fingers and got his attention.

He then stopped when he saw his tank was wrecked.

"AH, MY TANK," then the spooky images that were shown to him caught up. "AHHHH, I'M SEEING GHOSTS _AND_ THE UNDEAD!"

Janna couldn't help but snicker at his reaction while the Eagle Tank was starting to blow up. With a livid expression on his face, the Avarian snarled at the Dreadful team.

"Grrr, this isn't the end!" Letting out a whistle, Ludo got his bat monster to scoop him up as he had his dimension scissors in his hands. Once out of range, he cut open a dimension portal and went right through it with the bat monster before it vanished.

It was then the Eagle Tank exploded on the ground as Nebula, Janna, and Upsilon witnessed this. Nebula put away the green Miracle Gemstone and her wand, while Janna put her dark magic spell book back into her backpack. Upsilon was starting to recharge after unleashing the inferno cannon.

"Do not underestimate me Ludo," Nebula cried out.

"That tank was a piece of junk anyway," Janna huffed before smirking. "Anyway, that was some wicked cool teamwork we just displayed you two."

"Quite true, Janna," Nebula admitted. "But the question is _what_ should we call this move that _we_ came up with?"

"Hmmm…" Janna thought for a minute before snapping her fingers and coming up with something brilliant. "I got it: why don't we call it 'Miracle Dark Inferno Blast'!?"

Nebula and Upsilon took that in for a moment before the latter spoke first.

"The appropriate title of the combat display that was just unleashed intrigues me," Upsilon admitted. "That name is a satisfactory decision to go with."

"Yeah, I guess that name will work," Nebula admitted.

"Alright," Janna whooped before taking out her dimension scissors. "Anyway, it looks like Ludo got away and fled into the next dimension, so that's where we're going too. Let's go you guys."

"Very well," Nebula went with it as Janna cut open a dimension portal for them to pass by. "Let's get out of this dimension."

"Accipitridae Shaped Cruiser Hover Tank: Destroyed," Upsilon declared as he obliged.

Janna rolled her eyes at the declaration Upsilon made before the three of them entered the portal and headed to the next dimension. They left the Coastal Ruins Dimension behind them and were unaware that the dimension they were heading towards was the same one that the three other teams were heading to as well…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 3!**

**YEAH, THIS CHAPTER IS SHORTER THAN THE PREVIOUS TWO CHAPTERS, AND MOST OF THE BOSS CHAPTERS (IF NOT ALL OF THEM) WILL BE SHORTER COMPARED TO THE 'EXPLORATION OF THE DIMENSION' CHAPTERS! THIS BOSS CHAPTER WAS JUST A STARTER UP SO IT'S NOT THE BEST CHAPTER I DID! BUT I AM SURE FUTURE BOSS CHAPTERS WILL BE BETTER THAN THIS ONE!**

**SO ANYWAY, LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU WISH TO DO SO, AND THAT'S ALL FOR NOW! **


	5. Big City Plant Dimension I

**CHAPTER 4-BIG CITY PLANT DIMENSION I:**

* * *

In a metropolitan New York styled futuristic city dimension that had a bunch of high skyscrapers and flying cars, the Demonstrix showed up in this dimension first as they had jumped out of the portal and took in their surroundings. They had gotten the call from their client via talkie who informed them of their next assignment.

"Now it's time for the real test," the client began. "_All _of you are about to enter Ludo's territory. So are you boys ready?"

Tom gave Buff Frog a glance that let him know that he was still a bit unnerved by this client they're working for.

"You know Buff Frog, there's _still_ time for us to turn back now," he told the frog monster with a hint of darkness in his voice.

"Vell why d'you think vee are here," Buff Frog insisted and crossed his arms. "This is _our_ first job in 5 months, and besides, how else vill vee put some cash on the table?"

"Yeah, Buff Frog is right," Archibald agreed. "So let's get on with our next assignment!"

"Very well, here is your next mission," the client instructed. "You'll have to take out _all _of Ludo's monsters that are holding the city; every _single __**one of them."**_

"Huh, so we're going on a monster hunting spree," Tom wondered as the talkie was pocketed. "Very well, we'll get on it."

"Yeah, since 'all evil must be banished to the fiery pits of the underworld', apparently," Buff Frog snickered as Tom grumbled afterwards.

"I'm ready to _bash_ some monster heads," Archibald was raring to go. "Where are they?!"

"Right down there."

Buff Frog took the lead and jumped down to the lower exterior of the building they were on and they found that there were a couple of Craw monsters swarming the area. Buff Frog made the first move by body slamming them before bashing two of the monsters' heads in. Archibald followed by delivering a tackle and a bite to each of them before Tom went and hurled a couple of fireballs in their direction. Archibald finished them off by spitting some acid on top of them. The monsters were taken out and vanished, leaving a couple of spots of black ash in their wake.

"Woohoo, that was a piece of cake," Archibald dusted his hands off. "This'll be _easier_ than I thought."

"Don't be _too _sure about that Archibald. Have looked at the size of the city," Tom motioned his attention to the big overly sized metropolis in front of them.

"As you can see, the city dimension we're in is enormous, so we have a lot of ground to cover," the demon explained. "Those monsters we just took out were only a warm-up and an appetizer."

"Then that means the rest of the monsters will be the _main_ course," Archibald licked his lips. "Not a problem, we can do this!"

"Yeah, let's go, comrades," Buff Frog motioned them to follow. "This will take a vile to accomplish."

And so the three of them stalked into the city as they were just beginning the hunt for all the monsters that they had to take care of…

* * *

"It looks like Ludo had _escaped_ into this city dimension," Andrew remarked as Team Star was the next to arrive. They walked out of the portal and examined the big city for themselves.

"Yeah, and it seems that Ludo's monsters are taking control of everything," Marco deduced.

"That's no problem for us," Star looked determined. "Now let's find Ludo, and show him the real power of teamwork!"

That last comment she made left Marco grinning nervously while Andrew was startled by this as he found that comment to be incredibly corny.

_The real power of teamwork, really? That has to be one of the corniest things I've ever heard! _Andrew screamed in his thoughts.

Star felt that they were staring at her and she was confused by their reason.

"What," she asked. "What did I say?!"

Deciding on moving on, the three of them started to trek through the city on the highway shaped roads.

"Anyway guys, if what I've gathered on my phone is correct," Marco explained, looking at his phone. "This big enormous futuristic city dimension is being _run_ by an automated energy plant that supplies the power for everything in this city, from the roads to the flying cars, everything."

"An energy plant," Andrew was confused.

"It's an energy _power _plant to be exact."

"Duh Andrew, that's energy flowing through those red pipes on the sides of the road," Star pointed.

"That's right Star, the energy that flows throughout the city comes from the power plant that's located in the heart of this dimension," Marco continued as he looked through his phone some more. "The problem is my phone doesn't explain what the energy is made out of. But if I'm assuming correctly, if Ludo infiltrating the city dimension is anything to go by, the energy is probably made out of a _powerful_ magical substance that keeps everything in this dimension running and fueling every day."

"I gotcha Marco, and I'm betting that Ludo is using the energy to give his monsters fuel in order to stop us, as well as using it to conquer the universe," Star assumed. "I'll admit, that's a step up from trying to _steal_ my wand, but it's _still_ pretty twisted that he'd want to steal the energy that runs this city."

"In that case, our next objective is to rescue the city dimension that's under the control of Ludo," Andrew pounded his fists.

"That's what I like to hear Andrew," Star winked at him. "Let's go Marco; it's time to rescue the city dimension from Ludo's reign."

"I'm right behind you Star," Marco grinned as he pocketed his phone.

The three of them headed towards the depth of the city to free it from Ludo's control…

* * *

"So let me get this straight, this Ludo is behind all this huh," Nebula mused as Team Dread arrived in the dimension next, stepping out of the portal before looking at the place for themselves.

"That's right," Janna remarked as she formed a fist. "And whatever it takes, he's mine."

She glanced at both of her teammates for a second.

"Are there any objections you two?"

"Negative," Upsilon beeped while Nebula shook her head to show she doesn't object to it either.

They didn't get that far though when Nebula took notice of a giant building way beyond the distance past the other enormous skyscrapers in her path. She was wondering what that place was, and after thinking, she had some sort of idea of what that building could be.

"Hey, isn't that an energy power plant?" She asked.

"That's right," Janna nodded as they walked onward. "And not only is the red liquid it's producing being traded at a high price, but the energy coming from that plant is also probably what's keeping this big city dimension running on fuel every day."

"Suspicions indicate that Ludo has plans to control the energy and use its source to fuel his monsters," Upsilon made an indication.

"In that case, there's only one thing we have to do," Nebula remarked before turning to Janna. "Do you know what we have to do?"

"Uh…kick Ludo out of this city dimension, stop him from stealing the energy fuel to aid him in his plan, and help with liberating this dimension?" Janna took a guess while smiling nervously.

"Nope," Nebula bluntly replied.

**"DESTROY!"** Upsilon blared as he fired at everything in all directions.

"Since Ludo is controlling the city," Nebula pounded a fist into her palm in a declaration. "Then our objective is to _**crush**_ this city dimension in its wake."

**"I OUTTA **_**SMACK **_**YOU FOR THAT COMMENT!"** Janna screamed at them. She couldn't _believe_ that they'd want to do something like that. "Why would you want to destroy a city like this for, and let all this magnificent energy go to waste!?"

"There is more than one way to stop Ludo from controlling the city," Nebula snorted. "But simply crushing it down to bits is the easy way to handle it."

"But what about all the innocent people who live in this dimension," the Filipino wondered. "They've done nothing _wrong _to deserve such a fate from occurring."

"Huh, why should you care what happens to a dimension like this," the dark-haired girl countered. "You have no reason to, and from what I know about your personality so far, you're _not _the kind of girl who'd give a flip as to what happens to a city like this one."

Janna huffed as she crossed her arms.

"It may be true that I'm a mischievous troublemaking girl who loves weird artifacts and had also stolen a Latino boy's house keys and personal ID cards from his wallet, as well as pranking people and causing trouble for others, but I have my limitations," Janna defended. "I may not be the girl who'd seem responsible for my actions, but by my standards, I won't go as far as destroying an entire city dimension. That is _overkill!"_

She then started to trudge off ahead of her partners.

"If you want to trash the city, feel free to do so," she sneered. "But kindly leave me out of it, because I'll have no part in destroying the city!"

Without another word, she rushed off ahead of her teammates as Nebula was shocked by what she just said. Nebula and Upsilon followed on after her. While Upsilon continued to shoot at anything that's Ludo related, Nebula was unsure of what to think. She was beginning to have second thoughts about destruction and feels that Janna might be onto something when she said that destroying the city is not the answer.

At the same time though, just freeing the city from Ludo's wrath won't simply put a stop to Ludo in his tracks…

* * *

Team Sparkle was the last team to have arrived in the big city dimension as they came out of a portal and examined the city for themselves. As Daron looked over the horizon, she took a glance towards her teammates.

"Well girls, my instincts tell me that Star had arrived in this dimension not so long ago," she informed them. "We're pretty close to tracking her down."

"Yeah, of course, we are," Pony Head brushed off. "But look at the size of this city. I've never seen one that looks so big. I can't wait to _check _it out."

As Daron nodded, Jackie took the enormous hi-tech city dimension that they had entered. Gone was the coastal ocean waves and the sea palace and they were replaced by a futuristic metropolis that they had to explore in order to find Star and get the medallion and seashell necklace back.

Pony Head took notice of a building that was massive beyond the distance. Seeing that it looks important, the floating unicorn head got them to notice it.

"Hey gurls, look at that huge building in the distance," she said as they started to walk. "What is that suppose to be?"

"I don't know. I think it's an energy plant," Daron saw it for herself.

"It's actually an energy power plant Daron," the skateboarder girl explained. "That plant is where all this energy that's fueling the city comes from and how everything around us is on the move every day from the red pipes on the sides of the roads to the flying cars zipping past us."

"Oh, so it's like a factory," Daron guessed.

"Not quite Daron, for I have an uncle who works in a factory that makes skateboards," Jackie insisted. "But the reason I know this is because my father works at a power plant that looks strikingly similar to the plant that's in the heart of the city."

"Ah, I see," the nerdy girl smiled. "That's interesting to know."

"Yeah Jackie, that sounds fabulous," Pony Head gushed as they then ended up on a holographic road that helped them move faster. "Hey gurls, this road is making me move faster!"

"I know, and I bet that the energy from that power plant is what's causing the roads to work like this," Daron deduced.

"You got it dudette," Jackie smirked. "And this kind of road is perfect to go _skateboarding_ on."

"Girls, I think the three of us should go touring the city and see it for ourselves," Daron suggested. "I think it'll be a fun experience."

"But gurl, what about mah medallion," Pony Head whined.

"And my seashell necklace," Jackie added as she gave Pony Head a look.

"Oh yeah, that too," Pony Head chuckled nervously.

"That can wait for a little, since Star has them under her care, and they can't be lost," Daron told them. "Besides, if we look around the big city, we might find something that gets us interested."

"Well, I suppose we could go sightseeing like tourists in this place," Pony Head accepted. "Just as long as we don't have to go get a pizza that's supposed to have 100 mushrooms on it…"

"I'm cool with it as well," Jackie nodded. "As long as they are under Star's care, I do not object to that. Besides, we might actually find some radical stuff in this city dimension."

"Exactly, now come on girls," Daron motioned them. "It's time to explore the city!"

Without any objections, the three of them toured through the city for a bit before they decide on finding Star and getting their belongings back from her…

* * *

"Alright, so according to the information that I'm getting on that dimension," the client was giving the Demonstrix info on how many monsters are holding up the city. "There are 85 monsters that are holding the city dimension hostage so you'll have to take care of them all."

"85," Archibald's eyes grew wide. "And how many monsters did we handle so far?"

"Four monsters counting," the client revealed.

Archibald then snapped his fingers at realizing that this was going to be _tougher_ than he thought. Buff Frog snatched the talkie from Tom and started to give his complaint.

"Are ya crazy, telling us to bash all invading monsters in city dimension with no problem," he bellowed. "Doing something like that is essentially a suicide mission, by having us take out 85 monsters!"

"81 monsters actually as of now," Tom corrected as the client then countered back.

"Listen, do you want Ludo to have the upper hand on you somewhere down the road," the client snapped. "If you take out his monsters here and now, it'll slow down Ludo's progress! 80 measly monsters should be a piece of cake for the Demonstrix."

"81," Tom corrected again as he snatched the talkie and spoke into. "And it's no problem; we can handle it. Just give us ten minutes or less and we'll clear this city of them."

This caused Buff Frog to let out a loud 'Vat!' as the client sounded impressed by Tom's determination and proposition.

"Very good, now get going, because the clock is ticking." The client ordered before hanging up. Tom put the talkie away as Buff Frog stomped in frustration and looked at Tom as if he was some kind of deranged maniac.

"Are ya outta your demonic hotheaded mind _Tom!?_ Ve're detective agents, not vrestlers," Buff Frog howled. "Sure I've got plenty of fighting strength from tons of training done in the past, and you have enough firepower to scorch an entire city, but vee are not cut out for _this_ kind of task!"

"Look Buff Frog," Tom hissed, trying to keep himself from blowing a fuse. "Unless you want us to remain without a job for _another_ 5 months, I recommend sucking it up and getting this done and over with."

Without another word, Tom turned around and stormed through parts of the city to search for some monsters himself. Archibald was rubbing his temple at his reaction.

"Wow, for a guy who could care less about our mysterious client, he seems pretty persistent in getting this task done and over with," the gargoyle pointed out.

"Tom is complicated like that," Buff Frog insisted as he sighed. "He's very mysterious to be exact."

They both followed after Tom in order to get this backbreaking task done and over with…

* * *

Even though the city dimension was currently under the influence of Ludo, Star couldn't help but admire most of the beautiful things that existed in this dimension, from the large skyscrapers to the holographic pathways that cause you to move, and the flying cars soaring through the air. It was amazing for the princess of Mewni and her perspective.

"Wow guys, this city is incredible," she gushed. "I love this place."

"I hear ya Star," Marco nodded in agreement. "Echo Creek is _nothing _compared to this city."

"I know right," Star smirked. "This enormous city could put Echo Creek to shame."

"Yeah I know," Andrew rolled his eyes. "But remember, Ludo is controlling the city and we have to liberate the city dimension again before it gets out of control."

"Trust us, Andrew, we haven't forgotten," Star waved off before stepping on a holographic path. "Besides, this path we're on right now makes me move at a faster pace!"

"It has something to do with the energy that's flowing on the pipes on both sides of it." Marco pointed out.

"I know that Marco, but check this out," she started running on the road and treating it as if it was a carnival ride. "WEEE, THIS IS FUN GUYS!"

"At this rate, we'll end up losing Star to this futuristic city," Andrew groaned. "Not to mention she'll end up flying off on us again as a result of being distracted."

"But Star promised she wouldn't leave us behind this time," Marco brought up.

"Yeah, but once she gets carried away, she doesn't think about anything," Andrew sighed before smirking. "Not that she was thinking about this anyway."

"What are you saying? Of course, she thinks, she just has a different way of thinking."

"Sure, but she'll still get caught up in all of this."

"Why do you believe that so much Andrew," Marco walked in front of Andrew and crossed his arms. Andrew sighed as he asked that genuine question before confessing.

"Marco, when was the last time you've seen Star before she got that letter from Ludo?"

Marco remained silent as he knew where he was going with this.

"It's been a long time; 5 months to be exact, right?"

Marco nodded.

"So what do you think will happen when this adventure is over?"

"Please stop it, Andrew," Marco begged for him to stop before he took a deep breath and continued. "It's true that Star is always on the move from traveling through several different dimensions, but that doesn't mean she'll never come back to us. She'll always come back to us, no matter what happens."

Andrew was frozen for a second when he said that before regaining himself and shaking his head.

"Yeah, I guess that's true," he adjusted his hat while the both of them followed after Star before they lose sight of her again, as deadly silence clouded the two of them…

* * *

"Oh wow girls," Daron told her two partners. "This is incredible. I have never been to a city like this before! This place is massive compared to Echo Creek!"

"That's quite true Daron," Jackie smirked in agreement. "And these holographic roads would work great for creating a skateboarding rink."

The three girls were looking at the part of the city they were in and saw a bunch of flyers, posters and holographic advertisements that surrounded them. One of them was a hologram that was advertising Quest Buy and on the image under the word 'Quest Buy' was one of the many sloth employees and underneath was a slogan that said 'That's not in my department.' They paid no attention to that. However, Pony Head did see a poster that advertised what they call 'Goblin Dogs' and the person on it was a little yellow goblin named Roy. This got Pony Head surprised as she remembered that experience and how it was all a trial and a test of character to see if she was worthy of having a goblin dog. Not keeping it quite, Pony Head got her partner's attention.

"Hey gurls, check this out," she cried as Daron and Jackie walked over to the poster she was referring to. "This is a poster that's clearly goading people into getting a goblin dog, and this goblin here is known as Roy."

"Goblin Dog," both Daron and Jackie were curious. "What's that?"

"Oh a goblin dog looks like an ordinary hot dog, but it gives you quite a trippy experience when you eat one," the floating unicorn head explained. "I remember this one time where B-Fly and Earth Turd joined me and my other friend Kelly in getting us a goblin dog, only for us to get messed with from all the endless lines we had to wait in and the other mishaps. Then it was revealed to be a test of character to see if we were worthy of having a goblin dog for ourselves, and we passed."

Daron and Jackie were impressed by her short explanation.

"Wow, that was fascinating dudette," Jackie complimented.

"I remember Star telling me that she and Marco did something like that," Daron confessed. "But I wasn't given all the details about it."

"Well that's what happened, and by the looks of this poster, it seems that Roy is trying to find more guinea pigs to bait in and see if they are worthy of having a goblin dog too," Pony Head confirmed.

"I see," the nerdy girl and skateboarder girl remarked simply as they continued to sightsee.

"So anyway, you think maybe it's time for us to locate B-Fly now," the floating unicorn head wondered.

"I guess so," Daron rubbed her chin. "After all, even if she doesn't have Pony Head's medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace anymore, I'm betting that she's more than willing to help us out!"

"That would be a wicked cool idea, Daron," Jackie grinned. "And maybe Marco and Andrew could help out too since Marco is such a noble young man."

"Yeah, considering that Andrew is a great treasure hunter as Star says he is," Pony Head sassed.

"It's official. Let's not waste any more time girls," Daron declared. "I'm going to use my instincts to get us straight to Star and her partners Marco and Andrew, so follow me!"

"Alright," Pony Head and Jackie cheered together as the three of them continued the trek through the city while getting back on track with locating Star…

* * *

"I suppose I do owe something to Janna," Nebula muttered to herself as she was _still_ thinking about what she said. "After all, she did rescue me from that capsule and allowed my release to be possible. And without her help, I wouldn't have been able to remember Miracle Levitato."

"AH-HA," Upsilon suddenly bellowed as a stray monster was in front of him. This monster was revealed to be a turtle monster of some kind as it was guarding a machine. "This inferior monster is guarding a machine that's sucking all the energy off the road. Regardless, I must assimilate all of Ludo's monsters regardless of their purpose!"

"Well, how else were they going to take the energy," Nebula questioned as Upsilon trashed the turtle monster himself.

"It's likely that Ludo has some kind of processor in the power plant," Janna took a guess. "But if they're taking the energy from the road, then that must mean-."

_**"WE MUST DESTROY THE ROAD!"**_ Upsilon was prepared to open fire on the road when Nebula and Janna stopped him.

"Ludo is our priority and the threat to this dimension, not the road," Janna scoffed.

"Yeah, don't shoot the road Upsilon," Nebula retorted. "Not while we're standing on it, understood?"

It took a while to convince Upsilon to not shoot the roads and have him register it in his mainframe, but after a while, Upsilon decided to step down and not take aim at the roads. He did manage to suffice his desire for destruction by firing away at the monsters that were in front of them.

"Do these monsters really think they have a chance?"

"Not against us that is, although…" Nebula paused as something else came to her mind. She remembered the name Ludo and Janna suddenly uttered when they were back in the coastal ruins dimension. What was that name again? Star Butterfly wasn't it? Yes, that had to be her name. Turning to face Janna for an answer, Nebula decided to ask the Filipino the appropriate question.

"Janna, who is Star Butterfly exactly…?"

Janna was getting nervous. She knew that Nebula used to have something against Star before she lost her memory up until she _had_ a change of heart. If something bad comes up, Janna could lose her Mewni friend, and since she referred to her as the Mayor of the Detention Center at school, it was clear she _would_ defend Star's safety.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," the nightmare loving girl stuttered. "What makes you think I'd know a girl like that?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Nebula sneered at her pitiful excuses. "You were the one who uttered her name when Ludo made mention of her."

"Why do you want to know about Star," Janna asked before teasing. "Are you afraid that I'm dating a woman and that I might be _kissing_ Star when no one is watching?"

"Heck no," Nebula said bluntly upon that accusation. "But she has to be important if Ludo had mentioned her name like that!"

"Well if I told you, you'd probably want to go after her instead of Ludo," Janna defended. "So if you really want to know, you should go find out yourself!"

"Very well then," Nebula swiftly turned to face Upsilon for data. "Upsilon, can you retrieve any data on this Star Butterfly?"

"Affirmative, I am processing the data as we speak," Upsilon had processed the information and was retrieving the data for Nebula to know. "I have collected the data, but there isn't enough sufficient information to provide a descriptive explanation."

"No problem," Nebula decided to go with something brief. "Just give me what info you did uncover about her."

Upsilon attempted a shrug. "Well, she is Ludo's arch enemy who has constantly stopped him from universal conquest and expanding his army, and how one of Ludo's main goals was to steal her wand. That's all that I could retrieve Nebula."

"Huh, how interesting…" Nebula mused to herself as she started to head off once more. As Janna passed by her, she stared at her with this confused expression and had this feeling that Janna knew something that she needed to know about her memory.

_You are hiding something… _The dark girl thought as the three of them continued through the city…

* * *

As the Demonstrix had gotten the hang of things, they had taken care of 15 monsters so far; some were Craw monsters, and some were bat monsters. It was a start, but all of them that were defeated left behind a circle of ash right where they were standing. They then encountered two turtle monsters guarding some machines that were blocking the road.

"These monsters are guarding strange machines," Buff Frog scoffed. "No worries, we'll take care of them."

"Not a problem, I'll tackle them to the ground," Archibald announced.

"Uh, I think it's best if Buff Frog gets to make the first strike," Tom insisted.

The frog monster did make the first strike by extracting his tongue and wrapping it around the turtle monster as if it was a prehensile tail.

"Wow, where did he learn how to do something like that with his tongue?" The gargoyle looked curious.

No response came as Buff Frog swung his tongue around and then released the turtle monster that was hurled right into the other turtle monster, resulting in a collision between them and had them straight on their backs.

"That was a wicked cool trick," Archibald praised. "You got to teach me how to do that."

"Uh no, it's simply natural talent," Buff Frog told him. "You wouldn't be able to learn it."

"Anyway, we'll take care of it from here," Tom then floated and then created a massive ball of fire before tossing it towards the turtle monsters, which scorched them endlessly. Archibald then jumped in and spat out some acid from his mouth to infect the turtle monsters before they vanished, leaving a spot of black ash afterwards, totaling it to 17 monsters defeated.

"Woo hoo that takes care of that," Archibald whooped.

"It's too soon to celebrate, we've got more coming our way," Tom pointed out to two more bat monsters with one of them dropping a craw monster towards them.

"No vorries," Buff Frog took out a pack of chewing prum and popped it into his mouth. He started chewing it before he blew a couple of bubbles with it which made contact with the bat monsters. They were encased inside of them and soon the bubbles fused together before they landed on the ground with a pop, causing them to lose the ability to fly.

The craw monster then charged for them before Tom stepped up and delivered a fire punch towards the monster, leaving behind a burn. Archibald then bit the monster and kicked it towards the bat monsters that were stuck.

"Good work comrades Tom and Archibald," Buff Frog praised them. "Now I'll finish this up."

He pried the three monsters out of the prum and then tossed them onto the ground, before delivering one final punch to the three of them, knocking them out cold before they vanished. As of now, 20 monsters were taken care of already.

After they passed by several holographic roads, they encountered more monsters; 6 craw monsters and 6 bat monsters, making 12 more monsters to take care of. Not needing to make comments about the situation, the three of them got to work right away. Buff Frog started by extracting his tongue around the 6 craw monsters and tied them together like a lasso. Meanwhile, Archibald flew up and kicked the 6 bat monsters in the head before biting each and every one of them, as they each let out an ear-piercing screech. Tom then took center stage to levitate up to the bat monsters before using a rare instance of telekinesis to hold them in place. Getting his focus in check, the demon flung the bat monsters towards the craw monsters one by one until they were all on the ground.

"You know Tom, I wonder how you are able to do that," Archibald had to know.

"What, telekinesis? Yeah, I have used it," he huffed. "But I just prefer to use my fire powers over that. Plus it's more effective."

"I get it, you're a pretty cool demon."

"Don't forget that a demon is only _half _of what I am."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Alright comrades, I'm gonna release tongue," the frog monster told them. "And then you'll finish them."

"Got it Buff Frog," the gargoyle turned towards the demon. "What do you say, Tom, how about we do a combo acid/fire strike?"

"Eh, sure," Tom shrugged his shoulders. "Seems to be the most reasonable method, not to mention it'll clear all the monsters at once."

Once Buff Frog released his tongue, the demon and gargoyle performed a combo attack. They fused the fireball and spits of acid together, allowing it to make direct contact towards the fallen monsters and colliding with them, doing a massive ton of damage. All 12 monsters got taken out and were turned into black spots of ashes. Tom and Archibald went back down as Buff Frog was impressive.

"Great vork comrades," he told them. "We've done quite a bit so far."

"Yeah, let's just hope we can continue onwards." Tom moaned. "We've dealt with 32 monsters so far."

"Uh-huh, and we cleared another road, so we can head out," the gargoyle approached it.

"You know, I've gotten this funny feeling about these machines," the demon examined them. "They must have been stealing the energy from these pipes on all the roads we cleared back up."

"Ludo, you're a bad bird!" Archibald bellowed to the sky.

"Vell, I guess vee caught him red-handed," Buff Frog snorted before he was met with another craw monster once they crossed. With one punch, the monster was knocked out and vanished. "And that makes 33 monsters."

"I have to wonder, why these monsters are doing this," Tom pondered. "Better yet, what is it that Ludo is wanting from this energy that is being taken from the road?"

"This city dimension is futuristic right," Archibald suggested. "It's probably got some magical energy that's powerful enough to run these holographic roads and allow the cars above us to fly."

"But this is Ludo's territory he claimed," Buff Frog was curious too. "He wouldn't take his own energy which vasn't his in the first place. Perhaps there is magic energy source in this stuff that he's after."

"You know, I have to agree with that one," Tom agreed as he observed the city around them. "Anyway, I can't believe that there was ever a city that was _this _big."

"I know vat you mean comrade Tom," Buff Frog commented. "That city called Echo Creek where that karate boy Marco lives is nothing at all like this."

"I'm with you on that," the demon continued. "Echo Creek where Starship had resided in 2 years ago doesn't come anywhere _close_ to what this city displays."

"Hey you know, something just came to me," Archibald wanted to know something. "If this entire city makes up the whole dimension, how do you think the city was built in the first place before the dimension existed?"

Tom was trying to find an answer to that, but he was cut off when a flock of 10 more craw monsters came in their path, as they were aligned like bowling pins, ready to strike them out.

"Vell, you know what to do."

"Yes, time to land an assault," the gargoyle battle cried.

Tom rolled his eyes at that as the three of them decided to take out this flock of monsters together. Buff Frog had proceeded to chew up some _more_ prum and then blew some bubbles to get five of the monsters in a sticky situation. Tom then jumped in and scorched the other five craws with a flame wheel. This also affected the five that Buff Frog trapped with the chewing Prum. Archibald then decided to wrap things up by spitting out 10 spits of acid towards them, causing them to dissolve before they suddenly vanished while leaving 10 spots of black ash behind.

"That makes 43 monsters dealt with," Buff Frog pried off a piece of prum and chewed it again. "Vee are halfway done with mission."

"Only 42 more monsters to go," Archibald cried. "Let's take care of the second half."

"Let's just hope that we can find them all soon," Tom groaned as this fighting was starting to get to him. Nonetheless, he decided to go with it as he followed his teammates to take out the 42 remaining monsters…

* * *

Meanwhile, while Team Star was still traveling through the city, Marco was feeling apprehensible about what Andrew told him about the possibility of Star vanishing for another five months. Just thought of losing Star for another 5 months would have been devastating.

Andrew meanwhile wanted to go on a rant with Marco, but he knew what Star meant to him. After all, the princess of Mewni lived with Marco 2 years ago when she was sent to Earth for the first time. It made the friendship between Star and Marco all that more special, so he decided not to spoil it for his sake.

Both of them kept up the awkward silence when Star took notice of this. She was actually expecting them to say something, and this silence surprised her. Turning around, Star decided to break the tranquility once and for all.

"Hey guys, what's with the silent treatment," she asked, as she kicked off crates from the building and passed by charred monster remains. "Usually Marco has some _fun facts_ or Andrew has something to _complain_ about!"

"_Fun facts," _Marco guffawed by what Star said about his facts when he noticed Andrew stomping over to Star, rolling up his left sleeve and getting ready to _pound_ her. Marco managed to hold him back, however. "Wait, Andrew! Don't try to punch her face in!"

"I'll give **her** _something_ to complain about." Andrew sneered.

Star jumped around to face the treasure hunter, did a motion with her index finger and winked at him.

"Glad to see that I've _provoked_ a response," she chimed in a sing-along manner.

This caused the team to dissolute once again as Andrew roared and tore after Star. Star took to the air as she started to fly past several skyscrapers while Andrew took to the air too by gliding after her. They left Marco behind as the Latino felt like reminding them.

"Don't forget you guys, we have to _save _the city from Ludo," he called out, but his request fell on deaf ears. When Andrew was furious, _nothing _could stop him.

Seeing that he couldn't fly, Marco searched for another method of catching up to them. He then caught a glimpse of a rail that headed right in the direction they were heading.

_Well, this rail might seem cliché, but it'll have to do. _Marco jumped onto the rail and started to grind on the rail after them. _It's a shame that they don't have flying invisible goats in this dimension._

While the karate expert was working on catching up, Star had tried to toss several crates she ran into in Andrew's direction, but Andrew would always react by drawing his fists and punching the crates into a bunch of pieces.

"Can't we go **anywhere** without _me_ wanting to pummel _you_ Star?!" Andrew blasted.

"Are you kidding, you wouldn't want to do that to me," Star teased some more. "Because by the time you catch up to me, your anger will subside."

Andrew muttered something under his breath as they passed by several black spots of ash that were left behind, courtesy of the Demonstrix. Another crate was aimed at Andrew, but he dodged it as it was heading for Marco.

"Whoa, guys watch where you're throwing…" Marco ducked out of the way when he noticed the black spots that looked like they were from monsters. "Wait a minute, if Ludo is running the city, then why did some of his monsters leave behind nothing but ash spots? Is it possible that someone else is trying to liberate the city too?"

He would have shared this with Star and Andrew too, but the former was trying to slow the latter down, while the latter was giving chase after the former in a blind rage. For now, the Latino decided to keep it to himself as he continued to grind after them…

* * *

"You know, I have to admit it; I think this city is cool," Janna remarked as Upsilon was brawling with a couple of monsters that spawned in the place of the ones the Demonstrix took out. "Echo Creek has nothing on this place."

"Uh, what is _Echo Creek_," Nebula asked.

"Oh it's just a place that I live in," Janna revealed. "It's located on Earth."

"Huh, Earth," Nebula acted like she never heard of Earth before.

"Yeah, it's nothing too special, but it can act as a cool crib after a while," Janna admitted. "A lot of my friends that I have live on that planet."

"Like who: Star?" Nebula hounded her.

"Well, not anymore," Janna struggled. "Not often that is. In fact, she prefers to travel a lot."

_She is one of the coolest girls I've ever met. _Janna mused. _From the detention fiasco when she landed into detention with me and the others, to the resurrection of Bon Bon. She has always been a pleasure to have around and to do some wicked cool stuff with, and I can't let Nebula have the urge to kill her._

Nebula meanwhile, was also musing about what Janna said; in regards to Star traveling a lot of times via dimensions. It seemed like an interesting concept, but why would a girl like Star prefer to travel on the road rather than reside in a single home all the time?

Then there was Ludo and the possible motive for him infiltrating the city and stealing the energy that supplies power to the whole dimension. Was there some type of magical source that could be contained in this energy that Ludo is desperately after?

"You know, with all these monsters taken out for us," Janna examined the black spots. "It seems like someone else might be after Ludo too, aside from Star that is."

"Yeah, but who else could be after him?"

"I don't know, but whoever it is, he must have quite the fan club if so many people are after him, assuming that there's another team pursuing him, besides us."

"I see…"

"The monster subjects have been assimilated." Upsilon blared out.

"Great, let's go," Janna pointed out.

Nebula wasn't paying attention. She had her wand out again and started to wave it. She was now curious as to what this wand contained and if the magic inside of it could be the same source Ludo is after.

Unexpectedly, Nebula ended up casting a spell that got Janna's attention.

"Nebula, what the…?"

Nothing else was said as the spell she cast caused her to be shrouded in a dark purple beam of light as she then took off to the air at a speed faster than any speed done before.

"What did she just do?"

"It appears that the acceleration of Nebula's speed is way off the charts: cannot compute how this is possible."

They watched as Nebula speed off through several of the skyscrapers while leaving a trail of dark purple light behind her…

* * *

Getting back on track to finding Star, Daron, Pony Head and Jackie were trekking through the city in order to find who they're looking for. They had fun seeing what the city looked like and how much better it was compared to Echo Creek, but now they had to get back to doing what they set off to doing in the first place. Daron had this sudden urge to move as fast as Star could fly at her fastest, but she knew that it would never be possible to achieve. There was no way that it could ever happen.

"You know girls, I always wished that I could move as fast as Star could fly at her fastest," Daron pointed out. "But it's a shame that I'll never be able to do since it's impossible to do."

"What are you talking about dudette? Anything is possible when you believe you can," Jackie assured her. "Besides, if you want, we can ride on my skateboard again."

"And I can use my unicorn magic to boost our speed on the skateboard girlfriend," Pony Head winked at her.

Daron felt their comfort was appreciated, but before she could say anything, a loud boom was heard in the distance which got their attention.

"Whoa, what was that," Pony Head was confused.

"Hey, look," Daron pointed to the distance where a ray of light moved at a fast speed and left behind a colorful displayed. "Someone must have achieved a spell to go at supersonic speed. It must have been Star!"

"I seriously doubt that Daron," Jackie pointed out. "For one thing, does Star normally leave a trail of dark purple light in her dust?"

"Well no." Daron shook as the building the beam of light past suddenly got demolished, as a building started to crumble and was destroyed in a matter of seconds.

"Do you really think that Star could have destroyed that building," Daron rubbed her temple.

"Well, I know B-Fly can be reckless, but she isn't _that _reckless." Pony Head pointed out.

"That's true, but if it wasn't Star, then who was it?"

Jackie was unsure of the answer since she didn't know anyone else who could achieve that.

"I honestly don't know."

Putting it behind them, they continued on through the city to find Star Butterfly…

* * *

The Demonstrix had taken out 7 more monsters, bringing the total to 50 monsters dealt with so far.

"Come on out you monsters, where ever you are," Archibald was whistling out for them to come out.

"These aren't _dogs _that we're hunting down Archibald," Tom was irritated with the gargoyle's method of summoning the monsters. "These are _monsters_ we have to take down."

"Well, there's a first time for everything."

Tom was about to make another retort, but before he could, 15 more monsters came out of nowhere: 5 were craw monsters, 5 were bat monsters, and the remaining 5 were turtle monsters.

"Huh, this keeps getting better and better comrades," Buff Frog had chewed up more prum before blowing several bubbles in all directions. Once the 5 craws and 2 turtle monsters were rooted when the bubbles popped on them, Tom then stepped up with another fireball in his hands.

"I guess you don't know what happened to your friends, huh," asked the demon as he then went and tossed the fireball at them, before hurling several more in their direction.

Buff Frog then took over and bodyslammed the charred up monsters that were stuck, bashing their heads in and causing them to vanish.

"Hey guys, there's still eight more," Archibald pointed at the 5 bat monsters and the 3 remaining turtle monsters that were surrounding him. "Guys, I could use some assistance here!"

Buff Frog and Tom wasted no time into hurrying to his aid as Buff Frog took the remains of the prum and used it to get the remaining turtle monsters stuck before using his brute force to flip them over and then punch them where it hurts. Meanwhile, Tom decided to fend off the bat monsters as he tossed fireballs in their direction several times. All five of the bat monsters were knocked out of the sky and landed on the pile that the turtle monsters were lying on.

"Awesome job you two," Archibald hollered. "Now I can finish this!"

He then fired several spits of acid towards the 8 monsters, which was enough to defeat them and cause them to vanish.

"There, done and done," Archibald dusted his hands off. "Now, shall we continue to hunt for the remaining 20 monsters?"

"Yes, we've dealt with 65 monsters so far, so now we have 20 left," Tom mused.

"Uh huh, ve vill be finished in no time," Buff Frog stretched before the Demonstrix continued to handle the rest of the monsters holding up the city...

* * *

"Okay girls, I think it's about time we do something productive," Daron told her partners as they were making great progress through the city despite this.

"Wait a sec gurl, what do you have in mind," Pony Head raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I've come up with a possible theory, and if it's true, it might lead us to Star," Daron told her partners.

"We're listening gurl."

"Now, I have this feeling that there is something in the power plant in the heart of this city that holds a special power that Ludo is after, and that's something that Star and her crew would want to investigate," Daron exclaimed. "To elaborate, there must be a magical source inside the energy that keeps this dimension on its toes and remaining active everything single day and that's something that Ludo would want possession of to fuel his monster army and be able to conquer the universe."

"I think I get what you're driving at Daron," Jackie started to piece together. "The stuff in the energy power plant contains a magical substance that could be used by Ludo in conquering the universe, and that's the place Star, Marco, and Andrew would investigate so they could prevent Ludo from gaining access to this unlimited energy. Is that what you're saying, Daron?"

"Exactly, and that's where our next course of action should be, to head to that plant."

"So you're saying we should head to the energy power plant since it's where B-Fly and her crew are heading for, right?"

"You got it Pony Head," Daron motioned them to follow her, which they did.

As they traveled, they noticed that many of the spots that would have contained monsters were black ash spots, done by the Demonstrix. They were wondering who was responsible for taking care of the monsters for them.

"You know, I wonder who handled these monsters that would have been here…" Daron was puzzled by this.

"Well whoever it was, they were nice enough to spare us the trouble of dealing with them." Jackie smiled.

"Yah, it saves us some time so we can get a move on." Pony Head gloated. "What confuses me though is how these monsters get scorched right on the spot."

"Probably by Andrew, since he can be a total _hothead_ at times," Daron assumed.

As they went through the area and saw more scorched ash marks, they then took notice of the prum remains that Buff Frog left, which to them looked like some huge discarded chewed gum. All three of them were perplexed with this and wonder how this had happened.

"You know dudettes, this really looks suspicious," Jackie made her comment.

"I have to agree, but for now, we better keep moving," Daron got Pony Head and Jackie to continue right behind her as they were planning on heading to the energy power plant…

* * *

Now Marco was getting slightly _irritated_. Star and Andrew were still flying over the city without stopping to see what was around them while Marco kept grinding after them. This was made worse by how they disregarded all of the warnings that Marco had to give to them. The Latino even caught any crates that got thrown towards him and tossed them back in the direction they came, but they ended up glancing off of Andrew like they were nothing.

"Fine then," Marco yelled in frustration. "Ignore_ me_ when I say that those machines are sucking the energy off the roads, courtesy of the monsters!"

"How low can he go," Star retorted as she flew past another building.

"We can't let _him_ get away with this," Andrew snorted. "Right _after_ I take care of Star."

"The both of you are being _impossible_," the karate expert grunted.

"You still can't catch me you _nincompoop_," Star taunted him some more, which only enraged him further.

"You also can't fly away from me forever," Andrew snarled as he kept on her tail.

Star then went and used her wand to unleash a Hurricane Force Wind on some nearby crates, which not only crumbled by were sent flying in Andrew direction. They ended up causing him to fall onto one of the buildings and became trapped in the debris. Marco finally jumped off the rail and went over to get Andrew out of the debris.

"You know she's only doing this to egg you on some more, right," Marco told him as he dusted himself off and shook his hat.

"I know," he put the hat back on his head and grunt. "So let me give her what she deserves."

"Now Andrew, we have more important matters to attend to," Marco reminded him. "Like let's say, having to stop Ludo from conquering the universe in two days from now; the first day is almost over and here you are wasting _**time **_with Star."

"So, try telling _tha_t to Star," Andrew moaned. "She's the one who thinks _everything_ is a game to her!"

"She's past that," Marco shook his head. "Yes she can overdo it at times, and she does go overboard when she has fun while saving the universe, but in the end, when she realizes she gets too deep, that if she fails everyone will be doomed, and you know that she would never want to have that happen to anyone if she could help it."

"I get that…but why does she have to mess with _me_ in the process?" Andrew grunted as he took to the air again with Marco hanging onto him.

Marco gave him a small chuckle and sighed. "I don't know, but Star wouldn't be who she is if she didn't."

They both went to catch up to Star in hopes of finding Ludo and stopping his plan…

* * *

The Demonstrix members were still hunting down for the final 20 monsters that they had to clear out of the city. Alas, they weren't having any luck with their search. They searched high and low, but there were no monsters in sight. This was really getting tough for them.

Archibald even aided them by activating a gargoyle statue to teleport them to another part of the city, but there was still no luck finding any of them.

"I don't know _where_ the remaining 20 monsters are," Archibald concluded. "Perhaps we_ scared_ them off with the latest display of teamwork that we achieved."

"I seriously _doub_t that Archibald," Tom sighed and shook his head.

"Vee have got to be close somehow," Buff Frog was still determined to find the last of the monsters.

Once they proceeded through a door, they ended up getting to the higher part of the area individually. After they made it to the top, they saw a solo craw monster at the end of the hallway. What was particular was the fact that this one was carrying a shield to deflect most attacks, as Buff Frog was having trouble punching right through it.

"Seems that shield is causing us problems; could you dispose of _it, _Tom?" Buff Frog had to ask him.

"Very well, leave it to me."

He closed his eyes and begun his focus. It wasn't long before he was surrounded by rings of fire, which looked like winds of fire. The moment Tom opened his eyes, he pointed towards the monster bearing a shield and the rings of fire were unleashed towards the monster. Not only did it roast the shield; it also took care of the monster and defeated it. Nothing but ash remained in its wake.

"Alright, nice display there Tom," Buff Frog smirked. "I didn't know how you pulled it off."

"It's a special type of ability that I've grown acquainted with," he responded. "Really, it's a type of power that demons have access to."

"Alright," Archibald cheered as they moved onward. "We have 19 more monsters to dispose of!"

"Vee better find them fast."

The three of them pushed forward through the area with some hope that they'll find the last of the monsters shortly…

* * *

"_Real power of teamwork_ my foot," Andrew grunted as Team Star was back together. "If anything, that has to be the cheesiest thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth Star. Not only that but what you displayed back there ended up proving the fact that you didn't take your own advice seriously."

"That's because you aren't a team player Andrew," Star informed him while jabbing an accusing thumb over her shoulder. "Who's the one who always says 'I prefer to work alone!' huh?"

"It's not that I'm _not a team player_, I just work _better_ alone, since I have no distractions like you holding me back." Andrew defended.

"Put a lid on it you two," Marco told them. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

"In that case, we'll never have to hear Andrew's voice ever again," Star mocked.

Andrew was really on the urge of exploding, but the look he saw on Marco's face convinced him to cool it.

They continued through the area with Star in the lead as they were running down the holographic roads that made them move faster. They then jumped off a ramp which sent them a good few feet through the air.

"YAHOO!" Star cheered.

"_I'm falling_," Marco cried out.

"No need to worry Marco, we won't let you fall," Andrew told him. "Because we know you _can't _fly."

"Thanks for pointing that out," he said dryly.

When they landed, they passed through some more monster remains courtesy of the Demonstrix. It was then they saw holographic signs that all said the same thing as Andrew read it.

"MEXA-eco," Andrew had no idea what that is.

"Yeah, everyone knows what _that_ is," Star said as if it was obvious, but to Andrew, it wasn't.

"Oh yes, Star, because I _care_ so much about the success of companies while I'm resting on my floating island in my home dimension."

"I'm just saying; don't get _worked _up over it."

"Yeah," Marco stopped another fight from occurring by getting out his phone and searching up info on MEXA-eco. "You see, according to the info I found, MEXA-eco supplies most of the funding that was made to building this dimension. Their _biggest _achievement was actually the energy power plant that I mentioned earlier. If memory serves me right, it should be right behind the building that is standing in front of us now."

"So, does that mean we're heading to the power plant then?" Andrew questioned.

"Well since it's the place where Ludo is stealing the energy source used to power the entire dimension, then maybe that's where we should head." Star blurted.

"But if they're stealing energy from the roads, what good would we going to the plant do us?"

"Who knows," Star shrugged to Andrew's response. "But once we can figure out what's the main source behind this energy…"

"Maybe we can use it to our advantage against Ludo," Marco gasped as he finished for Star.

"Well, in that case, I guess we have a motivation to head there after all," the treasure hunter shrugged.

The three of them then started to walk with their designated location being set on the power plant…

* * *

"Excellent work there Nebula," Upsilon praised the dark girl who reunited with the team. "You've demolished your_ first_ building."

"It wasn't on purpose," Nebula sounded irritated." I was just messing with my wand for one second, and the next thing I knew, something happened that caused me to black out and blow on by at such a super fast speed."

"Well, I'm just glad it was only that building," Janna wiped her forehead. "And it wasn't _this _building."

Janna made a hand gesture around them.

"What's so great about _this_ one," Nebula raised an eyebrow.

"This is the MEXA-eco building that I've heard about," Janna exclaimed. "They own the funding to most of the city including the power plant nearby."

"Shall we demolish the MEXA-eco power plant instead of the city," Upsilon offered.

"Absolutely not, because that would lead to some serious problems," Janna scolded. "MEXA-eco is a very big deal."

"So is whatever the heck Ludo is planning." Nebula retorted.

Nothing else was said as they continued the trek through like the other teams. After some traveling through the building, several more monsters spawned back in place of the ones the Demonstrix took care of. This impressed Nebula and Upsilon as they hardly fought any monsters this time. Nebula fired some dark purple energy beams at one of them while Upsilon unleashed his flamethrowers at another one. Janna ended up kicking the door in front of her which burst right open.

"Wow, that was _easier_ than I thought," Janna smirked. "Okay guys, we can go now."

"Hold on a minute," Nebula fired another purple energy beam at the last monster, taking it down. "Okay, now _we_ can continue."

Janna rolled her eyes as she went through the hall with Nebula following her, and Upsilon followed too after he dealt with another monster. At the end of the hall was a single pole going upward. Nebula and Upsilon were puzzled by this occurrence while Janna was jumping up and down in a rather excited manner.

"Hey guys, I've seen how this is done in a movie once," she told them. "Nebula, all you have to do is to run around that pole as fast as you can and then Upsilon and I will grab onto you."

"Uh…okay…?" Nebula was skeptical by this but obliged anyway as she did just that. It didn't take long for Nebula to have made several rotations around it when she grabbed Janna who then grabbed Upsilon. In a matter of seconds, they found themselves climbing up the pole while rotating around it.

"Yahoo," Janna suddenly cheered before they were propelled from the highest point of the pole and got ricocheted through the air towards another part of the area.

"Uh, what kind of movies do you watch Janna," Nebula asked as she was feeling slightly dizzy from the phenomenon.

"Well, I saw that trick from an action movie I seen once," Janna then gave her a devilish smirk. "But if you must know, I prefer watching _horror _movies since they are _my_ specialty."

Nebula shrugged as they continued onward…

* * *

It didn't take long for Team Sparkle to learn about the existence of MEXA-eco like Team Star and Team Dread had. They found out from staring at a holographic bulletin board.

"So do you think that MEXA-eco is the corporation that owns the power plant we have to head for," Daron asked while Pony Head was inspecting a nearby pole.

"I guess so," Jackie shrugged her shoulders. "I'm assuming that MEXA-eco provides most of the funding for this city including the power plant."

Daron decided to go with that when Pony Head got their attention.

"HEY GURLS, CHECK THIS OUT!"

Daron and Jackie approached Pony Head who had directed their attention towards the pole in front of them. As the floating unicorn head was grinning, the nerdy girl and skateboarder girl were confused by it.

"A pole, is that what this is?" Daron asked.

"What does this even do," Jackie rubbed her temple.

"I dunno, but I'm about to find out," Pony Head then charged her horn and fired a beam of light towards it, which caused a whirlwind to occur.

"Gurls, grab on to me because we're going for a ride!"

They followed her instructions as they found themselves being propelled up the pole while rotating around it constantly. When they reached the top, they were ricocheted off and found themselves blasted through the air.

"Yahoo gurls," Pony Head cheered. "Even though I can fly naturally, that experience felt totally awesome!"

"I agree with that, Pony Head," Jackie whooped. "That felt _radical_, and I always wanted to soar through the air like this like they do in skydiving!"

"I have to agree too," Daron smiled. "Now I know how awesome it feels whenever Star flies through the air as she does!"

It didn't take long for them to land, and where they landed precisely was on a couple of rails that Daron and Jackie found themselves grinding on while Pony Head floated in the air to keep up with them.

"Now this is my kind of action," Jackie smirked once again. "I've always wanted to grind on rails like this. This is a radical experience, and I've always wanted to practice this with some soap shoes on. This may not be skateboarding, but it comes close to it in terms of awesome!"

"I'll say," Daron smiled as she saw how she was effectively grinding on the rail too. "I have to say that I'm a natural at _this._"

"You sure are _dudette_," Jackie laughed and elbowed her playfully.

"Yeah, that looks like fun," Pony Head admitted. "Too bad I don't have feet to do that with, but I have to take your word on how awesome it is."

"Trust me, if you had feet, you would get a kick out of doing this," Daron smiled.

"I know."

It didn't take long for them to find themselves off the rails and they eventually made it to the entrance of the power plant that they needed to head to.

"Well, here we are," Daron motioned to them. "This is the power plant that we have to enter. Now we can get in there and start the search for Star."

"Yeah, let's do it for mah medallion!" Pony Head whooped.

"And my seashell necklace," Jackie added.

"That too…"

The three of them then jumped down the entrance of the plant to make their way in with hopes of encountering Star pretty soon…

* * *

Speaking of whom, it was apparent that Team Star had their sights set on the power plant, but the problem was that they weren't being united. Marco had tried constantly to get Star and Andrew to unite to display the 'real power of teamwork' as Star puts it, but sadly, they wanted to do things their own way and they didn't want to corporate with each other. Despite this, he wasn't about to give up on that.

"Come on guys, we can't act like _this,_" he told them. "We got to stop Ludo with the_ real_ _power of teamwork_, remember?"

"Stop quoting me on that," Star scolded him.

"Well don't you think it's a good idea to put it in motion?"

"It is a good idea," Star defended. "It just can't be executed because Andrew is too much of a _knucklehead _to corporate."

"I can hear _you_ ya know," Andrew hissed upon hearing that.

"I know you two have your differences, but you have to put them aside for this one occasion," Marco explained. "Ever since we arrived in this dimension, we've done nothing but argue!"

"It must be the influence of Ludo getting to us and making us stir crazy," Star assumed.

"And _that; _this **isn't **a joke Star," Marco argued. "Ludo is back and he's planning something big that he'll unleash on the universe, and unless we put together all our efforts and stop him, he'll get away with it and finally win!"

Star could have come up with a retort in response, but the look on Marco's pleading expression was enough to change her mind. Even arguing with Andrew wasn't worth seeing Marco so upset over how Ludo could conquer the universe. She then gave in and patted him on the shoulder.

"Alright Marco, I'll go along with it."

"Thank you," he sighed in relief. "Now we just need to get over this building."

"I'm all over it Marco, hang on."

Before he could speak, Star flew over the building while grabbing Marco before she grabbed Andrew shortly afterwards. They were soaring through the air for a minute or so as Andrew was wondering how this happened.

"I don't get it, how did you manage to get through to her Marco?"

"I think we've talked enough for one setting Andrew."

"Yahoo now is the time for action!" Star shouted as they landed on the ground and ended up trekking through the next area. Star managed to take down the monsters that spawned in the place of those the Demonstrix took out as she had Marco and Andrew right behind her, unless Andrew had to take center stage to press buttons to open doors and punch down obstacles in their path.

Everything was going smoothly until they encountered the weirdest obstacle: a single pole that was standing in front of them.

"Oh I already know where this is going to lead," Andrew shook his head. "I'm not going to like this…"

"Well I'm ready to check it out," Star got out her wand and unleashed a hurricane force wind which causing a whirlwind to occur, which dragged Star who grabbed Marco who grabbed Andrew, and the three of them found themselves being propelled up the pole while rotating around it several times.

"Wouldn't it have just been easier to climb it," Andrew questioned.

"Maybe, but it wouldn't have been as fun," Star chirped.

"And that's how this is supposed to be," Marco cried out.

The three of them made it to the top when they were ricocheted off and were flying through the air.

"Okay, that was a really weird experience," Andrew remarked.

"And it's only going to get weirder Andrew."

Andrew only gave Star a look in response.

"Only when _you're_ around Star..."

Marco only sighed happily at the display.

"Why can't we be like _this_ all the time?"

They then continued on for the power plant while liberating the city again…

* * *

So after several failures, the Demonstrix members were only able to take down 4 more monsters that came in their path. This left them with a mere 15 more monsters to find and take down. The problem is, they had no idea where they were.

"Man, this is taking forever," Archibald complained. "Where are the remaining monsters we need to hunt down?!"

"Halt, I sense something," Buff Frog felt a disturbance. "I sense danger lurking in this area, so be on guard you two."

"For what, we managed to take out 70 monsters so far," Archibald argued. "And plus we knew what we were doing."

"We knew what we were doing simply because we were lucky," Tom snorted.

"I see," Archibald was still confused. "But what does luck have to do with finding the last 15 monsters?"

"Knock it off, don't you get it," Buff Frog told them both. "Vat I'm trying to say is vee are about to be…"

Just then, the last 15 monsters landed in the room, and they were pretty furious with them.

"…ambushed."

"Yeah, well we're not afraid of you _chumps,_" the gargoyle jeered. "We can take you on no matter what you throw at us since we'll be turning you guys into _paper clips_!"

This actually infuriated them further as they have drawn out their weapons and pointed them at the Demonstrix.

"Now see what _you_ did," Tom sneered as they have gotten out of the way before they were hit.

"Regardless, vee might not make it," Buff Frog huffed until an idea came to his mind as he smirked. "Unless… Are you boys ready for round 2 of Monster Recital?"

"Yeah," Archibald got out his drums while Buff Frog got his microphone ready.

"Oh for crying out loud," Tom groaned as he reluctantly got out his electric guitar. _"Not again…"_

The Monster Recital took place as Tom played the electric guitar poorly much to his dismay while Archibald banged on the drums with that goofy smile on his face. Both of them were terrible enough, but it got worse when Buff Frog jumped down between them with the microphone and then screamed into the microphone like bloody murder and it caused the monsters in front of them to gain earaches just like before. Since it was too much to handle, the monsters suddenly blew up as the remaining 15 monsters have been taken care of. They noticed this as they ceased their playing and put their instruments away.

"Okay that's it, next time we will use the Monster Recital only in real emergencies, is that clear," Tom argued.

"Aw, but I love the recitals," Archibald whined.

"But it gives everyone deaf ears, and I'm surprised that I haven't gone deaf by our horrid playing yet."

"Oh very well Tom," Buff Frog sighed. "Ve'll wait until next time to have another recital."

"Okay, so we took out all 85 monsters like we were supposed to," Tom brought up.

"Right," Buff Frog got out the talkie and informed the client of their accomplishment. "We've completed mission."

"Good job," the client congratulated them. "Now I need you, boys, to head to the power plant in the heart of the city and wait for further instructions from me."

"We'll get on it," Buff Frog hung up the talkie. "Let's go, comrades, to the power plant for next assignment."

"We might as well," Tom shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm ready for our next mission!" Archibald cheered.

The three of them made their trek to the power plant where they'll be given their next mission…

* * *

Marco was impressed that his words finally got through to Star and Andrew as the three of them were traveling to the power plant like the United team that they were supposed to be. After some more progress, they made it out of the MEXA-eco building and made their way to the outside again. They were wondering if they were at the power plant yet as they had done quite a bit of traveling.

"Hey Marco, are we getting closer to the power plant?" She asked him.

"I think so," Marco assumed. "But I believe we're getting closer than before."

"Are we actually lost?" Andrew questioned.

"Of course not, we just need to follow this road!"

"Then that's what we'll do," Star guided them down the road until they met a dead end and right in front of them were three rails that they had to grind on.

"Do we have to grind on those?" Andrew tilted his head.

"Of course we do," Star cheered as she got Marco and Andrew on the rails before jumping on herself. The three of them went down the rails and left behind bright sparks along the way.

"YAHOO! I'm so happy to be able to _grind_ on these again!" Star whooped.

"I see," Marco nodded. "Well I've certainly gotten acquainted with these rails throughout the city, so I think they're pretty cool too."

"I'm just surprised that I can even grind on these at all," Andrew said ecstatically. "This amazes me."

As they kept grinding, they looked at their surroundings some more.

"Oh yeah, did I mention how much I love these roads," Star asked again.

"That's not the only thing to admire about this city Star, its size notwithstanding," Andrew pointed out.

"Yeah, like the flying cars, the huge power plant, and the fact that everything is being run by a large amount of energy." Marco brought up.

"Yeah, of course," Andrew nodded.

After a few minutes of grinding, they made it to the front entrance of the power plant.

"Alright, we're finally here," Star jumped up and down.

"Wow," Andrew was in awe at the sight before him. "This place is massive."

"It has to be if it contains all that energy we've seen throughout the city," Marco told him.

"Now what we have to do is enter the power plant and keep Ludo from getting what he wants with the energy and hinder his plot at conquering the universe," Star pointed them to a hole that leads into the power plant.

"Although did we free the city from Ludo?" Andrew wondered.

"Well, I don't think it was in any danger by the looks of it," Marco shrugged. "But now we should get into this plant and do what we came here for."

"No need to remind me twice Marco," Star smiled. "Let's get going."

"Yeah, let's get this over with," Andrew stretched his arms and adjusted his hat.

Without warning, the three of them jumped into the power plant and leaving the city behind, officially declaring the city 'liberated'…

* * *

"I just don't get it," Nebula was now grinding on a rail with Janna grinding right beside her. She was wondering how she was capable of this. "How am I able to grind on these rails with ease?"

Janna knew the reason perfectly from what she witnessed five months ago, but she simply shrugged.

"Eh, I guess it's just a natural talent," of course the Filipino was wondering how she was grinding on the rail too. "Though, I'm wondering how I'm able to grind on these rails so effectively as well. They're awesome!"

"I refuse to stoop down to such levels of absurdity," Upsilon refused to grind on the rails. "Just the thought of a robot grinding on rails is absolutely preposterous."

"Suit yourself, Upsilon," Nebula decided not to argue as she and Janna kept grinding down the rails with Upsilon boosting after them to keep up. It didn't take long for Janna to see the sight of a blimp above them as she got Nebula's attention.

"Look Nebula, there's a blimp."

"So, what's so special about it?" Nebula did not understand how magnificent it was.

"Ugh," the Filipino sighed. "You can never be happy, can't you?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but the sight of a large balloon in the air is not going to get my interest at all."

"You're such a _downer_," Janna complained. "Regardless, this is the only way by, so get use to it."

"Hmph," Nebula huffed as the three of them pressed forward.

After passing through several blimps, bouncing off of springs and using a pole to go up, the dreadful team noticed how high up they were.

"Wow, we're higher up than we were before," Janna responded.

"I'll say, those cars could knock me out of the sky at any minute," Nebula huffed.

"You can see the entire city from this height," Upsilon pointed out.

"Including the power plant," Janna had said. "There are MEXA-eco signs everywhere!"

"So is that going to be the place we head to next," Nebula questioned.

"Why, so Upsilon could go on ahead and trash the place so it could explode?" Janna snorted.

"That does sound like an effective-"

"It's not that at all," Nebula interrupted. "It's so we can actually learn about Ludo's scheme."

"So we're not going to destroy the city," Upsilon sounded a little disappointed when he asked that.

"No Upsilon," Nebula sighed. "I think we did _enough_ damage to it for one day."

This got Janna to smile as she sighed in relief.

"And besides," Nebula motioned towards the entrance of the power plant. "There are some monsters of Ludo waiting to be taken out."

That was more than enough to get Upsilon motivated to enter the plant.

"All of Ludo's monsters shall be eradicated!" Upsilon stormed off towards the plant.

Nebula then grabbed Janna's hand and they head to the entrance of the plant together. Of course, when they made it to the entrance, they jumped down a hole which was the entrance to the plant as they were about to infiltrate it.

"Well, let's get cracking so Upsilon will take out some monsters of Ludo," Nebula smirked before jumping into the hole as did Upsilon. Janna cracked a smirk too before jumping in.

"And I'm more than happy to help _them_ out," she made her way into the hole and followed her team to find out more about Ludo's scheme and to take out his monsters inside the plant…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 4!**

**ALRIGHT, THIS CHAPTER WAS A BIT MASSIVE, BUT I THINK THIS CHAPTER WAS A BIT OF AN IMPROVEMENT FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T FIND THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER TO BE ENGAGING ENOUGH! I UNDERSTAND SINCE IT WASN'T MY BEST CHAPTER!**

**AND ALSO, THE MONSTERS THAT THE DEMONSTRIX TOOK OUT, I HAD THEM LEAVE BEHIND BLACK SPOTS SO IT WOULD BE CLEAR THAT THE DEMONSTRIX HAD HANDLED THEM, JUST SO THERE ISN'T ANY CONFUSION.**

**NOW WITH THIS EXPLAINED, YOU CAN REVIEW IF YOU LIKE, AND STAY TUNED UNTIL NEXT CHAPTER!**


	6. Big City Plant Dimension II

**CHAPTER 5-BIG CITY PLANT DIMENSION II:**

* * *

Team Sparkle was currently riding up the elevator within the power plant. Of course, the outside of the plant looked huge, but it looked absolutely humongous on the inside; it was hard to believe. Then again, this is to be expected since the plant contains all the energy that is used to power up the entire city, so it _shouldn't_ be a surprise. The interior design had a bunch of hexagon patterns, lights that were aligned on every crevice and corner, and the plant had tons of sources running off of the energy located _deep_ within the power plant.

It didn't take long for the elevator to come to a halt at the top floor, and the path that they were supposed to go on was being held off by those machines on both sides, which were being guarded by the monsters in front of them.

"Alright, if I can understand _this_ correctly, Ludo's monsters are guarding the machines that are blocking off the path," Daron assumed as they got off the elevator. "Come on girls; let's take care of _these_ monsters first."

"Alright Daron, I'll start us off," Jackie proclaimed.

Jackie was the first to approach the trio of Craw monsters as she went to the center one and karate chopped it right in the face. She then followed this by striking the Craw with her foot and knocking it down. Daron then followed suit with her fake wand as she then approached the right side Craw and bashed it on the head with her wand before jabbing it across the face with it; knocking that Craw out next to the previously KO'd Craw.

"Alright gurls, I'll finish this," Pony Head floated over to the left side Craw and jabbed it with her horn. She then followed this by firing a beam of energy at it before ramming right into the monster and causing it to fall on top of the other two knocked out Craw monsters. The three craw monsters then suddenly disappeared from their defeat as the machine blocking the road blew up afterwards.

"Alright, we did it," Daron cheered.

"You said it, girlfriend," Pony Head whooped as the path they had to take opened up for them. "And look; now _we_ have a path to travel on!"

"Alright Pony Head and Jackie, if my assumption is accurate, Star should be exploring the power plant right now as we speak," she motioned them to follow her on the path. "So let's get going."

"I'm way ahead of you dudette," Jackie nodded.

The three of them took the path that opened up as they explored the power plant while looking for Star…

* * *

Team Star had entered the power plant a while ago, but as Daron had predicted, Star had wanted to explore everything, thus putting her team a little behind the other teams that were in the plant. Marco and Andrew had absolutely no choice but to put up with Star and her endeavors throughout the plant. They had to check out many different things such as more moving blue paths, corkscrew paths, giant spheres that they had to ride in and get shot out of and free falling from the upper floor. Marco could only take so much of this due to having a bad case of motion sickness. Andrew wasn't any better, as he wondered how long this was going to go on.

"Yeah, isn't this fun guys," Star asked her teammates.

"You do remember the reason why we're here, don't you Star," Andrew questioned while eyeing her.

"Yeah sure, to see if Ludo had fiddled around with something in the power plant and to see what has been going on, on top of stopping Ludo and his monsters from gaining possession of the energy," the princess of Mewni waved off.

"Don't forget, we can also figure out just what the energy is exactly, what it looks like and discover what the source is that _created_ the energy," Marco suggested, shaking his head at the fact that they were back on solid ground. "And if we find out more about it, we could use it to our advantage against Ludo."

"We would be able to get there _faster_ if Star wasn't wasting time goofing off," the treasure hunter grumbled.

"Hey, I'm not _goofing_ off," Star protested. "I'm just searching for anything suspicious in my own way, understood?"

Andrew simply mumbled as the three of them continued onward. However, the treasure hunter couldn't help but have one question cross his mind.

_How long is this going to go on for?_

* * *

"See, I knew we would run into some monsters," just as Nebula anticipated, several monsters were waiting for them the moment Team Dread got into the power plant. They were faced with five bat monsters who were trying to make an escape. But Upsilon had other plans in mind for them.

"Exterminate," Upsilon practically cheered as he opened fire on the bat monsters in hopes of taking them down. Meanwhile, Janna was taking a look at her surroundings and was amazed by what she saw.

"Wow, this place is even bigger than I expected," she eyed everything around her. "The outside of the plant was huge, but the inside is vastly colossal."

"Well this is where the energy controlling the city is located, right," Nebula brought up.

"Yeah, I know."

"Anyway, there's no turning back for us now," Nebula took the lead once Upsilon took out the bat monsters. "Let's get moving."

The three of them raced down a blue path with Upsilon firing at any monster that got in his way. As soon as they made it to an upper floor, with Nebula flying while carrying Janna and Upsilon hover boosting up, the three of them skid to a stop as Upsilon examined what was in front of them.

"Ludo's monsters are protecting unidentified machines," Upsilon prepped up his flamethrowers toward the two turtle monsters. "Eliminate all the monsters first."

"Of course this is something that I'd expect to happen," the Filipino mumbled as several explosions occurred after the monsters were fried up…

* * *

The Demonstrix had ended up in the power plant as requested by their client. Whatever mission the client was going to give them next had something to do with something going on in the most important building they were in, which was owned by the company MEXA-eco. Once ready, Tom, Archibald, and Buff Frog allowed the client to give them their next assignment.

"Alright, now that your all set, here is your next mission," he instructed. "There are gold shelled turtle monsters that are somewhere in the power plant. Those turtle monsters are the ones responsible for controlling all the energy throughout the city dimension and the power plant. You'll have to find and take out 3 of them."

Not asking any questions, the talkie was pocketed as they walked through the power plant.

"You know, that might be how the energy on the roads was being sucked out back in the city," Archibald assumed. "The gold turtle monsters were clearly responsible for the mishaps as instructed by Ludo."

"Perhaps, but if_ that's_ the case, then would it be likely that the entire city would be thrown out of whack," Tom retorted thoughtfully. "I mean this power plant is owned by the MEXA-eco company after all."

"Vatever is planned clearly must be creating chaos for city dimension," Buff Frog gave his input. "Anyway, let's go find 3 gold shelled turtle monsters and take them out."

Without another word, the three of them started their venture through the power plant so they could find three gold turtle monsters that had to be taken care of…

* * *

"Wow girls, I can't believe this," Daron admired the scenery. "I'm surprised by the technology that's running throughout this plant! The technology on Earth isn't close to being _this_ advance!"

"I hear ya dudette," Jackie was in awe at the sight too. "The power plant that my father works in isn't as hi-tech as this place."

"Yah gurls," Pony Head smiled. "This place is wicked cool despite the massive size. I feel like this building could match that of the _Butterfly Castle_ back on Mewni."

"I know what you're saying Pony Head," Daron responded as they continued on through the area.

They found themselves going through a giant sphere that brought them along for a wild ride. There were clearly not expecting this type of thrill as they were launched out of it and ended up in the next area.

"Wow, that was a crazy experience," Daron shook her head and adjusted her glasses.

"Yeah, that was totally _gnarly,_" Jackie admitted. "But it was still pretty awesome."

"Yah, I hear ya gurls, that was something," Pony Head witnessed how high up they were. "Check it out, we're really high up. We must be getting to a very high level here, even though I can fly in the air."

"Well when you think about it Pony Head, the plant is very massive in size," Daron snapped her fingers. "The plant was wicked huge from the outside, and that's saying something about the enormous interior of the place."

Pony Head and Jackie nodded as they kept on traveling through the plant. Eventually, they came across a blue color wall that was bringing them upward.

"Hey gurls, this wall makes it _easier_ to fly upon," Pony Head told them.

The three of them then found themselves lifted off of the ground and up the blue wall, which brought them to the higher floor above them.

"Yahoo," the three girls cheered in unison as they were being brought up. Once they made it, they found their latest experience to be thrilling.

"Oh yeah, gurls, that was one heck of an awesome flight wasn't it," the floating unicorn head whooped.

"It certainly was," Daron cheered. "I definitely enjoyed that."

"That was my kind of ride," the skateboarder girl laughed. "Shall we keep going from here?"

"Exactly," the nerdy girl then lead the way as the three of them explored some more of the power plant…

* * *

It didn't take long for Team Dread to enter a war-zone that was swarming with Ludo's monsters in all perimeters. Nebula fired away dark purple laser beams with her wand, Janna jump kicked some monster while using her hairdryer on others, and Upsilon did what he does best.

"Exterminate and destroy: all Ludo's monsters shall be eradicated!"

And so he fired away with all of his arsenals and weaponry.

"Haha, this is pretty fun," Janna laughed as she gave another monster a head concussion with her hairdryer. "But it doesn't make ruining a city alright Nebula."

"Sure it does," Nebula fired a dark purple laser beam at the last Craw monster before they could continue forward.

Surely, they found themselves ambushed by bat monsters. They were flying high in the air as Nebula took notice of this.

"Those bat monsters look pretty tough to take out from the ground," Nebula directed her attention towards Janna. "Janna, do you think you can use some sort of electrical attack to take _them _down."

"What, but I _can't _do that!"

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because I don't use electrical attacks," the Filipino pointed out. "I may have learned some dark spells, but I'm still only a _human_!"

"Ugh, fine," Nebula then flapped her wings and approached the bat monsters. "I'll take care of _this_ then."

As she approached the bat monsters, she brought her wand to her face as she aimed it at the flying fiends. Nebula had an electrical attack fresh on her mind as she retained her focus while her wand started glowing purple. In a matter of seconds, the wand fired away and attacked the bat monsters with a dark purple lightning attack. As the bat monsters careened to the ground, Nebula was surprised by what she just did.

"Whoa," Nebula went back to the ground level next to Janna as she was astounded. "What was that that I just did?"

Janna smirked as she witnessed it too. She knew that the ultimate life form used that attack several times five months ago. Approaching her, she revealed it to her comrade.

"Oh Nebula, that attack you just displayed was called 'Dark Lightning Spear Attack'," Janna reminded her. "You use to use that attack five months ago and you were a master with it."

Even though Nebula couldn't remember any of that, she found the attack to be quite intriguing.

"Well that's pretty interesting," she grinned while Upsilon delivered the final blow on the fallen bat monsters. "Perhaps it'll be useful for later fights with Ludo's monsters and Ludo himself."

"For sure," Janna smiled. "But for now, just don't let your _guard_ down Nebula."

"I can say the same to you Janna," Nebula told her in response.

The three of them kept going through the plant, wondering what other secrets Nebula will discover for herself as time presses on…

* * *

As Marco was lurking around and admiring the power plant around them and taking in everything the place had to offer, Andrew was more focused on the objective at hand; dealing with Ludo's monsters and encountering the machines that were being guarded by them. Star of course, was the _least_ focused out of the three, and this irritated Andrew to no end. She wasn't paying any attention until Andrew poked her on the shoulder.

"What is it, Andy?"

"Don't call me _that_," Andrew scolded before he added. "I thought you were looking for suspicious activity."

"I am," Star sounded annoyed by this. "I swear, if you try to tell me to _do it the right way_, I'm gonna-!"

"Well, what do you call _that!?_" Andrew cut her off and brought her attention towards three monsters that were pulling levers which he assumed had some connection to the machines that were in front of them. Star chose the minute to smile coyly before replying.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you _serious_," Andrew blinked before yelling. "Those monsters are messing with something **suspicious**. They're clearly up to something with those machines!"

"What_ monsters_," she never faltered her grin as she fired several rainbow blasts towards the monsters and took them down.

Andrew was about to yell again before he saw that the monsters were knocked out unconscious thanks to Star and they weren't messing with the machines anymore.

This got Andrew bewildered until he caught on to what Star just pulled. Racing ahead, Star went into another sprint and moved onward with Marco trailing behind her. Andrew sucked in a very deep breath and then jogged after them…trying his hardest not to explode right then and there.

* * *

Team Dread had raced throughout the power plant, surrounded by the chaos that was happening everywhere around them. Even then, Janna felt relatively at ease. Nebula, Janna, and Upsilon had raced down several speed paths and had ascended from blue walls. Surely, only Janna got a kick out of them, what with the cheering and hollering that came with it. They passed through several rooms and ended up in a room with five monsters, who were taken out seconds later.

"Since _that's_ been taken care of, let's keep going," Nebula motioned them to follow her. They eventually ended up encountering an elevator that they had to go up.

"Well I guess we'll have to take this elevator to proceed any further," Janna huffed as they got on. The elevator went upwards with them on it.

"This elevator is fueled by the red energy that everything else runs on in the city," Upsilon informed his teammates.

"Well what else would be fueling it since this is the power plant that runs the entire city dimension," Nebula asked. "Better yet, what kind of source does this energy run off of?"

"Eh, perhaps there's a _magical_ source that's running off of the energy that flows throughout this power plant," Janna gave her assumption. "This would explain why Ludo could possibly seem interested in it."

"Yup, and that's the main reason we have to find him," Nebula declared as the elevator came to a stop at the top floor.

They wasted no time in getting off of it and continuing through the plant. With Ludo fresh on their mind, they were wondering where he was located.

"You know if Ludo wanted to get his hands on _that_ energy, he would have shown himself," Janna groaned. "He could get a big use of taking over this place with that unlimited energy."

"What confuses me is that Ludo's monsters are patrolling the plant and yet there's no sight on him anywhere," Nebula sneered as she flew over some obstacles.

"My sensors indicate that he did come by here," Upsilon spoke. "There are traces of him left behind."

"I get that, but what confuses me is that he hasn't shown himself,"

"Yeah Nebula, but it's not like him to just give the energy to his monsters to grant them fuel before cutting out of here," Janna frowned. "Not only that, but we're not the only ones after him since some other teams are clearly wanting to pursue him too."

"Yeah that's true," Nebula accepted that as a good enough answer. The three of them continued in hope of encountering Ludo soon…

* * *

Back with the Demonstrix, they were having no success with finding a gold turtle monster. They had checked a good portion of the power plant, but there wasn't one in sight. They had faced regular turtle monsters already in the city, so this shouldn't be too hard; since they'd look the same, only they would have gold coated shells. But what made it a _problem_ was that there were only three of them in the plant, so their presence was scarce.

Despite this, they weren't giving up their search. Archibald took to the air and was flying around every room in huge circles, Tom had used his levitation to get him to look into places the gargoyle hasn't bothered checking, and Buff Frog jumped from one platform to another while skimming and seeing if there was a gold-shelled turtle monster in the area.

After a while, they came across an elevator which they all agreed on riding together so they could get to the top. While they were waiting, they had some thoughts about how they haven't encountered a gold shelled turtle monster yet.

"Well this is just our luck," the gargoyle was the first to complain. "We've searched the whole area and we haven't run into a gold shell turtle monster."

"Remember we were given three of them to take down so their numbers might be scarce in this power plant," Tom informed him. "Besides, we already took down regular turtle monsters in the city, so the easiest way to tell if we find them is if they have a shell coated gold."

"Tom has point Archibald," Buff Frog spoke up. "Vee shall find gold shell turtle monster shortly."

"I hope," Archibald sighed.

Once the elevator came to the top, Archibald flew off and soared around the room for any leads of one. It didn't take him long before he saw something gold nearby. When he saw it up close, it was revealed to be a-

"BUFF FROG, TOM, I FOUND A **GOLD SHELL TURTLE MONSTER**!" Archibald called out.

This got Buff Frog and Tom to move instantaneously as they approached the gargoyle who was pointing at their first gold shell turtle monster; that was kept safe in a containment being guarded by the monsters around it. Fortunately, they took out the monsters guarding them with no problem as the containment opened up and allowed them to approach the gold shelled turtle monster. Buff Frog tried to land a punch on it, but the shell was too hard to break through.

"Vee can't harm gold shell turtle monster naturally," Buff Frog informed his teammates. "This shell is too hard to break through."

"Then we'll just make him vulnerable," the demon lifted himself in the air with his eyes closed where he then summoned that same flame wind attack that he used on the Craw monster with a shield, and while it didn't burn it, it caused the turtle to be flipped over. Buff Frog then took out some chewing prum and chewed it before spitting several pieces onto the monster to keep it from getting back up. Archibald finished it off by spitting several acid spits onto its stomach, which caused it to be defeated as it vanished right in front of them. As soon as it was gone, their client got a hold of them through their talkie.

"Alright, there are _two_ more left!"

"Yes, we know," Tom grumbled before cutting the call and they went to find the remaining two gold shell turtle monsters…

* * *

"Hey gurls, there are some more monsters that we need to take care of," Pony Head got the attention of her teammates, showing them three more monsters in front of them.

"This isn't a problem," Daron smirked while taking out her fake wand. "I'll handle this."

She charged and bashed the monster's heads repeatedly before knocking them into one another. Their defeat led to the anti-gravity wall to be available for them to travel upwards.

"Dang _gurl,_ you really do know how to pack your punches," Pony Head sassed.

"I know, it's all in the practice," Daron spun her fake wand like a baton before she pocketed it. "Anyway, the pathway we need to follow is available so let's get going."

Pony Head and Jackie nodded as they went upward and then continued on the path through the power plant.

As they were continuing forward, Jackie had been thinking to herself about how she recalled seeing Star in the coastal ruins dimension before they left. Of course, she tried to tell Daron about this, but she didn't listen so she never told her about it. In addition to that, her thoughts went back to thinking of one of the people who was traveling with Star; Marco. She had known him since they were in kindergarten and she was always polite with him even though he was too shy and nervous to speak to her when they were younger. It was clear that she always liked him and she found the Latino to be quite _cute_.

_I really have to talk to Marco when I meet him when we find Team Star. _Jackie thought. _I've known that dude since we were in kindergarten and I know for a fact that I should bring up with him about what happened to my seashell necklace. I'll ask him about that and if Star has them and whatever answer he'll give, I'll believe him because I __**trust **__him._

And in order to do that, she needed the newspaper in order to show him what she's talking about.

"Hey uh Daron," Jackie got her attention. "Is it alright if I can see that newspaper again?"

"Oh sure Jackie," she obliged. "But why do you want to see it again?"

"I just want to double check and make sure."

Once Daron gave Jackie the newspaper, the skateboarder girl examined it and saw that the photo of the blonde haired person was blurry, but the medallion and the seashell necklace were there.

"Okay, I'm double checking this and I can see that the photo of Star is absolutely blurry," she told them, as Pony Head and Daron looked at it too. "But I can make out my seashell necklace no problem."

"I can make out mah medallion with no problem too," Pony Head huffed.

"And I can clearly see that that girl is indeed Star," Daron scratched her head. "But why did you want to examine it again? We already established that this is Star."

"I know, but there's the possibility that she doesn't have it anymore and I was starting to have some doubts about it," Jackie admitted.

"Well the only way we'll find out for sure is if track down Star," Daron motioned. "Now let's go."

"Hey Daron is it alright if I can hold onto this paper for a bit," Jackie asked.

"Sure you can hang on to it, Jackie," Daron smiled as Pony Head went on ahead of them. "Not a problem, I can trust you with that."

"Thank you, Daron." The skateboarder girl smiled.

"Anytime Jackie," Daron gave her a wink before she ran off after Pony Head. Once Jackie pocketed the newspaper, she followed after her allies, destined on talking to Marco and showing him that photo in the paper.

_The moment I can __**talk**__ to Marco, I'm showing him that paper and seeing what he thinks about it. _Jackie smiled. _And I look forward to talking to him about it._

* * *

It took a lot of effort, but Andrew was able to swallow up any anger that was forming inside of him as he kept up with Star and Marco. The deeper they got into the power plant, the more suspicious monster activity that was lurking around the area, which meant more monsters for the three of them to take down. The ones handling the control were handled by Star when she unleashed rainbow blasts, rainbow fist punches and mega narwhal blasts, the ones who were screwing around with things on the floor were met with several karate chops and kicks courtesy of Marco, and the ones who were ciphering with the energy from the walls were given a smack-down from Andrew's own two fists.

"Jeez, these monsters are like energy vampires or something," Star said with a chuckle as Andrew groaned.

"I just wish I had a way to analyze what's in the energy that's causing this since my phone can't do anything of the sort," Marco wiped his forehead. The knocked out monsters around them vanished. "It would help us with having a lead on why Ludo wants it so much."

"Well whether it's a magical source or not, it's still energy, right," Star quirked.

"That's true," the karate master nodded.

"So now where do we go from here," the treasure hunter wondered. "I mean there are monsters messing with stuff, but what can we do about it?"

"Well we know Ludo wants the energy and is having his monsters handle it," Marco explained. "But our best bet of putting a stop to this is to keep them from taking the energy from the power plant."

Andrew huffed and crossed his arms. "You make it sound like its too easy Marco."

"Maybe it is! If we can just locate the power source where the energy is being stored, all I'd have to do is to examine it for myself and make sure it's redirected so it still delivers power to the city while also keeping the monsters from gaining access to it."

"Well, that plan will _almost_ work," Star pondered as this got Marco and Andrew's attention.

"Come again Star?" They both queried.

"Well think about it from_ my_ perspective: Ludo has been spending the past couple of years trying to gain access to my wand due to the unlimited amount of magical energy that is fueling throughout it. Now take the energy that keeps this city going and if Marco is correct, there really is a magical source coming from the energy; the same type that fuels my wand. In that case, the magical energy source is what Ludo's after and when giving its power to his monster, they'll be virtually indestructible and Ludo will be able to conquer the universe with this type of energy in this power plant."

Both Andrew and Marco were jaw-dropped by her explanation before Andrew shook his head and let out a low whistle.

"Whoa, that was rather impressive," Andrew remarked as Star beamed.

"What that I figured that all by myself?"

"No, more of the fact that you managed to make yourself sound intriguing and smarter than normal."

Star then made a face and scoffed. "Oh stop it, Andrew. Do not _underestimate_ me."

"I never said I _underestimated_ you! I was just-!"

"It just so happens that I know plenty about _how_ magic in the universe works," Star had crossed her arms. "I managed to learn how to _dip down _in order to restore all the magic in the universe after all."

"Yeah, well you _forgot_ who guards a gemstone that has unlimited_ magic_ power so your not the only one who should be talking." Andrew snorted back.

"I think Star might be onto something though," Marco interrupted. "The energy that Ludo is seeking probably does have the same kind of magic energy that powers her wand. So what we need to do is figure out where the energy holding area is located and then we'll deactivate it from being transferred into the monsters."

"In that case, how do you propose we get in," Andrew raised an eyebrow.

"I guess we'll have to see when we get there," Star chirped before flying off and continued through the plant, leaving Marco and Andrew to catch up to her.

"I really wish that she'd stop doing that," Andrew mumbled as they followed after her…

* * *

Team Dread had gotten past more obstacles, including a grinding endeavor (which Upsilon really detested) and they ended up in a room where they came upon a regular turtle monster. They tried to make hits towards it, but it was all for naught.

"Ugh, shoot," Nebula sneered as the shell deflected a Dark Lightning Spear. "This turtle monsters' shell is deflecting my energy spear attacks!"

"The shell is also deflecting my arsenals and weaponry," Upsilon blared.

"Yowch, not to mention _kicking_ them hurts," Janna grabbed her foot which was numb from trying to kick it.

"We'll have to find an alternative solution," Upsilon insisted.

"That's not the only one we have to deal with either, look," Janna pointed to the five other regular turtle monsters that entered to join their brethren.

"Well, we could easily run from these creeps," Nebula got a plan as she smirked while taking out her green Miracle Gemstone and her wand. "But where would the _fun_ be in that?"

"I catch your _drift_ Nebula," Janna smirked as she got out her dark magic spell book from her backpack and opened it to a particular page.

"Activation of the Inferno Cannon has been Succeed: Attack when ready!" Upsilon was ready to fire the inferno cannon once they were ready.

Before the turtle monsters could do anything to them, Nebula tossed her gemstone into the wand before she shouted.

"MIRACLE LEVITATO!"

"Ominous Dreadful Black Magic Wave Blast!" Janna spoke shortly afterwards.

It was then the monsters froze up and got surrounded by a dreary smog filled with supernatural images when Upsilon fired the inferno cannon on them. Once the effects of both spells wore off, the monsters were taken out of commission. After Nebula pocketed her gemstone and wand while Janna put away the book into her backpack, they continued onward. While Nebula took to the air to knock down some bat monsters that were surrounding her with dark lightning spears, Janna took the rails and whacked any other monsters heading for her with her hairdryer. Upsilon, of course, took to the ground to blast through Craw monsters that he could take out, refusing to go on the rails.

"I am still completely against this endeavor," Upsilon protested as he showed he was not grinding on the rails.

"Oh it's not _that _bad Upsilon," Janna assured him as Nebula didn't say anything. She didn't care how exciting grinding was just as long as it could get them to where they needed to be…

* * *

"Archibald, stop _goofing_ off in giant sphere right now!"

"But this is wicked fun. I haven't had this much fun in ages," Archibald defended as Buff Frog continued to yell for him to knock it off while Tom face palmed to himself about this. Eventually, it caused Archibald to be launched out of the sphere as he was sent flying in the distance until he landed, which caused a boom to occur. This got Buff Frog and Tom to exchange glances before taking off after him.

"Ugh, that blundering idiot," Tom scowled. "He's going to get us compromised with our mission!"

"Never mind mission, he probably _broke_ something of importance that'll need to be paid for reconstruction," Buff Frog growled.

They both went on the hunt for the gargoyle as they passed through several obstacles. The last thing they _needed_ was to go on a wild goose chase not just for the last 2 gold shell turtle monsters, but for Archibald as well. Several monsters that they went through took notice of their scurrying, but they were taken care of in seconds.

It wasn't until they found the second gold shell turtle monster that they also found Archibald.

The gargoyle was flying above the gold shell turtle monster in circles, while easily avoiding the weapons that the other monsters were firing at him with. Tom managed to dispatch of them easily with fireballs.

"Archibald, vat do you think you're doing?" Buff Frog questioned as he got the remaining monsters trapped in chewed up prum.

"Guess what, I found the second gold shell turtle monster all by myself," the gargoyle said proudly. "Isn't that great or what?"

"Except for the fact that we're probably going to have to owe MEXA-eco thousands of dollars for the destruction that _you_ caused," Tom hissed.

"Vee don't even have enough **money** to pay for all _this_," wailed Buff Frog as Tom gave him a look.

"Yeah, way to remind me about_ that_ Buff Frog…"

After those exchanges were made, Buff Frog decided to finish off the surrounding monsters while Tom flipped the turtle monster onto its back. Archibald then stepped up and spat some acid onto the gold shell turtle monster to finish it off once and for all.

"Alright, now there's just one more gold shell turtle monster that we need to find," Archibald was still feeling proud despite Tom and Buff Frog's complaints. Regardless, the three of them continued through the power plant to find the remaining gold shell turtle monster…

* * *

As they had a somewhat formulated plan in mind, Team Star had to work their way through the massive building, in search of what could be considered the main power source. They took out a clan of monsters along the way. However, at this point, they were on an elevator which was heading upward.

"Oh great," said Star. "How long is _this_ going to take?"

"It shouldn't be that long Star," Marco comforted. "We should arrive at the top floor shortly."

"Yeah Star, just be glad that this elevator isn't on the fritz," Andrew chuckled.

"Huh, well I would know when a magic elevator was on the fritz," Star huffed. "In any case, I'm looking forward to some more action right about now."

Sadly, Star had spoken _too _soon as they were then surrounded by monsters all over the place. There were 10 bat monsters and three Craw monsters that had them outnumbered. Andrew tried to punch them away but they just kept coming towards them.

"This may not end well for us," Marco gulped.

"Ah no worries, it's nothing a little power of teamwork can't handle," Star smirked with confidence. "It's time we put forth a new move that I came up with, one that I like to call; Star Butterfly Overdrive!"

"Say what," Marco and Andrew looked at her as if she had three heads.

"I'll explain it to you two," Star started. "Marco, you grab my feet, and Andrew, you grab Marco's feet and then you spin the both of us around several times before you released Marco. Then Marco will let me go and kick me to propel through the whole room and then _I'll_ handle the rest."

Marco and Andrew were absolutely flabbergasted by what Star had in mind.

"Um…okay, if you say so Star," they both said as they got started.

As Star had her wand out, Marco went and grabbed Star's feet by the ankles, before Andrew goes and grabs Marco's feet by his ankles. Then the treasure hunter spun himself and his partners in a circle several times or so before he let go. Afterwards, the Latino went and delivered a swift karate kick towards the Princess of Mewni, which then sent her ricocheting throughout the entire room.

**"BLAST AWAY,"** Star shouted as she zipped past every crook and cranny of the room while several objects came out of her wand, including cutesy bugs, diamonds, narwhals, rainbows, cupcakes, and mini unicorns, all of which did a significant amount of damage to the monsters surround them. Once she was done, she made a course to land in the center of the elevator with her wand facing downward before she shouted.** "THERMONUCLEAR BUTTERFLY BLAST!" **

Once she landed on the ground with the wand touching the ground, the aforementioned attack works and it caused all of the monsters to be taken out of commission as Marco and Andrew were in a daze. Fortunately, the elevator reached the top floor as Star got off the elevator with Marco and Andrew by her side.

"Woohoo, wasn't that a great teamwork display we did or what?" She asked them.

Instead of an answer, both Marco and Andrew fell face first and went into unconsciousness…

* * *

"Okay, so what's next that we have to do," Janna wondered as her team entered another room. Upsilon walked up to her and pointed out the obvious.

"That would be an elevator, Janna."

"I know, but I was expecting something more 'hi-tech' and fancy you know."

"I bet it leads to the top," Nebula crossed her arms and smirked. "It only makes sense…"

"Well there's only one way to find out," Janna then got her partners to go on the elevator as it then went upward to where they needed to go.

Several monsters were lurking on the elevator when it came to a stop due to those machines, but they were no match for Upsilon, who open fired and took them out of commission. Afterwards, the elevator continued to go up until it reached the top floor where they needed to get off. There were several bat monsters waiting for them at the top, but Nebula paid no mind or attention to them as she raced on through the power plant while Janna had to follow her…

…and stop Upsilon from firing away at the bat monsters.

"Must eradicate all Ludo's minions," the robot declared as Janna was dragging him away.

"Give it a rest, will ya Upsilon." Janna and Upsilon then had to catch up to Nebula so they don't lose sight of her.

* * *

The Demonstrix had checked every part, walked on blue paths, traveled through giant spheres, and even took out stray monsters that were in their path, but alas, no gold shell turtle monster was found.

"Dang, we're never going to find the last gold shell turtle monster," Archibald complained. "How come the first two were so easy to find?"

Even though Tom and Buff Frog were still a little ticked about what happened previously, the former decided to voice his opinions.

"I think I can assume that the last gold shell turtle monster is probably tucked away in a really secure area," Tom deduced. "This may be simply because the last one is probably the leader of the three gold shell turtle monsters."

"That's possibly true," Buff Frog agreed. "Vich vould make sense since vee haven't encountered last gold shell turtle monster yet."

"But we're detectives right," Archibald told them. "Aren't we supposed to live up to the name and actually _detect _its location?"

"Actually, vee are detective agents," the frog monster corrected the gargoyle.

"Yeah and besides, a little patience will help us locate it."

"You're the last one to talk about having _patience, _Tom."

"Well I've been doing meditation, so it's been helping."

"Good point," Archibald smiled sheepishly.

"In any case, vee just keep looking until vee find gold shell turtle monster," Buff Frog pointed out as they got off the elevator that made it to the top.

Not arguing with that logic, Tom and Archibald then follow Buff Frog's lead as they scurried through more of the plant while running down blue paths and checking out flying cars that were going in and out of the plant. Despite this, they were content on finding that last gold shell turtle monster even if it kills them…

* * *

Even though they didn't notice, Team Dread was now taking the same path that Team Sparkle took a while back. From the giant sphere that caused their heads to spin, to the blue wall that sent them upward, it didn't feel anything different from what they were dealing with previously. They ended up in a vast hallway when Upsilon detected something in the vicinity.

"Energy-mass approaching," he announced. "Stay clear of them."

"What are you talking about Upsilon," Janna raised her eyebrow before looking in front of her and seeing what he was referring to.

Two words: giant fireballs.

Janna had to jump away instantly when Nebula grabbed her hand and got her out of harm's way. Upsilon continuously fired away at the fireballs but to no avail. They wouldn't decapitate.

"Whoa, that was a big surprise," Janna blinked.

"You wouldn't have noticed them if Upsilon didn't point it out the way he did." Nebula countered.

"Well, at least Upsilon looks out for me and is a _cool_ dude."

"Hey, I at least pulled you out of the way, didn't I?"

"Sure you did," Janna smirked. "But you're the type of character who does things for yourself and will only do things if you have something to gain out of it."

Nebula frowned and narrowed her eyes, clearly not taking that insult lightly. "What did you-?"

"Well it's not a bad thing, because it makes you a total boss who doesn't like being told what to do," she grinned. "And that's what I like about you and what I think about your _awesome_ quirks."

Nebula's anger faded as fast as it came since she couldn't finish her sentence. "Uh…okay."

Janna actually started to laugh at Nebula's reaction, but of course, it was cut short when Upsilon blared about how there were monsters afoot.

"Inferior Monstrous Beings: Must eliminate them all!"

"Here we go again," Nebula groaned as she joined the fray and helped by handling the monsters that Upsilon wasn't going after. After that, they ended up in the next room that was hoarded with monsters and fireballs.

"Well that looks like a nice combination," Janna facepalmed at the sight in front of her.

"Just leave it to us then." Nebula told her as she and Upsilon handled the monsters that were in front of them as Janna watched from the sideline, seeing everything get wrecked from the wake of the assault.

"Oh, you guys just get way into it at times…" Janna shook her head and sighed at the display…

* * *

"You know girls, I haven't shared this with you, but if this room were to match my taste and interest, it would definitely work as a model for my bedroom," Daron pointed out as she admired the room that her teammates were in.

"Yah gurl, that would definitely fit your taste," Pony Head admitted. "It would also work as a dance arena where you could treat it as if it was the Bounce Lounge."

"You got that right Pony Head," Daron smiled and winked. "Anyway, I think we should leave this room before we encounter more monsters that want to pick a fight with us."

"I hear ya, Daron, let's get a move on," Pony Head smirked.

"I'm ready too, Daron," the skateboarder girl was more than happy to oblige.

Without any other word, they left the room as they continued through the power plant. By this point, they were at one far end of the power plant and they had done quite a bit of traveling at that. They kept going until they encountered some rails that they had to grind on.

"Alright girls, it looks like we need to grind on some more rails to proceed," Daron pointed.

"I'm looking forward to this again," Jackie smirked.

"You gurls grind and I'll keep up with ya," Pony Head exclaimed.

"Fair enough with me," Daron smiled. "Let's do this!"

Daron and Jackie started to grind on the rails while Pony Head proceeded to keep up with them. The rails lead them upwards towards the area they were in currently. Once they were closing in to the top of the room, both Daron and Jackie were getting a thrill out of this.

"Yahoo, this is even better than the first time I grind on rails," Daron cheered.

"It sure is Daron, and it gets more radical the more you practice," Jackie whooped.

"Hang on gurls, we're about to reach a spring at the top of this room," Pony Head warned them.

"Alright, then we'll jump from it," Daron looked determined.

"This ought to be interesting," Jackie smirked.

"Let's get this done," Pony Head declared.

The three of them jumped off the rail once at the top and they bounced onto a spring which propelled them to the highest point they could reach. It was shown that they were no longer in the power plant and that they were now located at the roof of a very huge skyscraper. They saw the blue sky above them and it was magnificent. Daron was relieved that they made it as she took in her new surroundings.

"Awesome job girls," she cheered. "Now all we have to do is wait for Star Butterfly to show up right on schedule."

"Do you think she'll show up on this skyscraper," the floating unicorn head asked.

"Oh yes, she'll come," Daron grinned. "And when she arrives, it'll be worth the traveling we did so far."

"Oh yeah, gurl-friend," Pony Head whooped. "And I'll be able to speak to B-Fly again!"

As they waited for Star to show up, Jackie did not utter a word. Rather the smirk that crossed her face did the talking, as did this thought that crossed her mind.

_I look forward to waiting for Marco to show up with Star and Andrew, and I'll be able to talk with him about what I need to tell him. Just being able to see him will be __**worth**__ it._

* * *

By this point, Janna decided not to carry on until Nebula and Upsilon were done with their assault. When they were done, they continued to the point where flying was required. Nebula had to grab a hold of Janna and fly her over while Upsilon activated his hover booster to get by the area too.

"You know something Janna," Nebula admitted. "I've been carrying you a lot since we started this journey."

"I know, it is pretty sweet," Janna grinned. "And it's rad that you are willing to help me."

"Eh, it's not all too bad, and carrying you isn't the worse thing I've done so far," Nebula shrugged. "Besides, I don't have to worry about carrying Upsilon around too."

"Affirmative: hover jet boosters prove to be efficient in this kind of predicament," Upsilon responded accordingly. "Aside from that, what shall our next course of action be: destroy the plant or continue our search for Ludo?"

"I'm going to go with the latter," Janna hastily answered. "We need to find him. I just wish there was more I could do."

"The problem will take care of itself once we handle Ludo," Nebula quoted.

"You're right Nebula."

"Have I ever been wrong before?"

"Don't start on _that_, but once we find Ludo…everything will go back to normal."

"Yes," Nebula was quick to agree with that as they kept going on foot after passing through the huge gap.

"Uh huh, you can question him to death about your past, Upsilon will get his revenge, with death not being an option, and I will be able to turn him in and get a promotion from the president."

"Whoa, hold it, hold it, hold it," Nebula had to stop Janna right where she was after what she just revealed. "Did you just say _a promotion from the president_?"

"Oh yes," Janna knew that Nebula didn't remember. "I know you don't remember this, but I actually am a part-time spy for the government."

"You're a government agent while also being a purloiner," Upsilon was entirely lost by what she said. "Doesn't compute: illogical."

"Oh yeah, it was my trickery and thieving skills that got me a position with them, especially after all the times I stole Marco's house keys and all his personal ID cards." Janna gloated.

"Uh, who's _Marco_?" Nebula never heard of him.

"Oh, _he's _just a friend I have on Earth, and I don't want to bore you with all the details," Janna waved off. "I just want us to go find Ludo right away, so let's go!"

"Find by me," Nebula shrugged as she continued to fly through the air.

"Prepare to be eradicated Ludo," Upsilon blared as he started boosting off after Nebula, with Janna accompanying him as they went through the last stretch of the power plant…

* * *

"Gold, I found sparkle of gold down below," Buff Frog cried out as he noticed a sparkle of gold down three floors. "I swear it came from there."

They were on an elevator at the moment, but they had to make sure they got down three floors to investigate the sparkle of gold that was down below. Tom and Archibald could see the glint of gold from down there too.

"Well, guess our best course of action is to take action," Tom got ready to levitate down there.

"Hey, how should I get down there," Buff Frog was confused.

"You're a frog monster aren't you," Archibald suggested as he got ready to fly down there. "Maybe you should jump down one floor at a time to get there."

"Oh very vell," Buff Frog sighed as he got ready to jump down one floor at a time.

Fortunately, it didn't take them that long to make it to the floor that was three floors down. In front of them was the last gold shell turtle monster that they were hunting for. Buff Frog's quick-eye actually helped them out.

"I vonder if vee passed this one before," Buff Frog rubbed his chin.

"It doesn't matter as long as we take care of it," Tom jumped in along with Archibald as they got to work. Using his chewed up prum and his extendable tongue, Buff Frog held off the other monsters around them until they were taken out. Meanwhile, Tom used the same flame wind trick to get the turtle monster to flip over before Archibald delivered one last acid spit toward the monster before the last gold shell turtle monster was taken out and vanished.

"And now the deed is done," Tom wiped his forehead. "That could have been worse."

"Good job: mission accomplished," their client announced right on cue. "Now the power plant should operate normally and everything in that city dimension should be back to normal now!"

"That's good to hear," Buff Frog commented.

"Yes it is," the client instructed. "Now the three of you must take the elevator to the highest part of the skyscraper that it'll take you too. When you get there, you'll wait for my instructions before you head to the next dimension. By the way, the next dimension you'll be going to is the casino dimension. Just get to the top of the skyscraper and wait for my further instructions."

After the call ended, Buff Frog with Tom and Archibald headed to an elevator that would take them to the highest part of the skyscraper they were supposed to go to. As it was descending up, they had a little talk.

"Gee, I vonder what mission vill be in store for us next," Buff Frog crossed his arms.

"Well we'll have to wait and see for ourselves," Tom exclaimed. "Whatever our suspicious client wants us to do will be revealed once we are able to head to the next dimension."

"Yeah, I mean the casino dimension sounds like it could be fun," Archibald cheered as they remained quiet for the rest of the lift.

Once the elevator got them to the top, they took a spring and it propelled them to the top of a skyscraper roof that was identical to the one Team Sparkle was on, but the skyscraper the Demonstrix were on was the skyscraper _next_ to the one that Team Sparkle was resting on. Once they were up there, they waited for further instructions from their client to move out, unaware of what was heading their way…

* * *

Marco and Andrew were still a little shaken up from what happened on the elevator, but Star shook it off as if it was nothing. Luckily, both of Star's teammates were conscious again as the three of them traveled through the power plant a couple of times or so. They still couldn't find the main power generator where they had to go to.

"I just don't get it," Star was stumped. "We've been through this plant at least twice. Just what exactly did I miss?"

As she tried to think it over, she caught sight of a gleam nearby, and she turned to see what it was.

Hanging rather conspicuously on a hook on the way was a key: a gold important key at that. Seeing that this was important, Star went and snatched the key from the wall and went to show it to Marco and Andrew.

"Hey guys, check out what I found," Star showed them the key that she found. Marco and Andrew grew bug-eyed upon seeing it.

"A key," Andrew was surprised. "Where did you find it?"

"On the wall on a hook over there," Star pointed before a playful smirk crossed her lips. "Wow Andrew, you call yourself a treasure hunter, but I found the key that you _didn't_ find. I guess that makes me a treasure hunter too, eh Andrew?"

"Ah stuff it will ya Star," Andrew was red in the face because Star was _teasing_ him. "As I already told you; keys are _not_ treasures."

"Sure they aren't."

"Anyway, what do you think that key goes to…?" Marco got them back on track. "Does it go to the main power generator perhaps?"

"Only one way to find out," Andrew declared. "I'll bring us there."

"Hold it, I thought I was bringing you guys there," Star raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but once you went and mention the _treasure hunting_ business, my instincts kicked in," Andrew huffed. "And they're telling me that it's just at the end of this hall."

"You better be right Andrew…"

It didn't take them long to make it to the main power generator room, as Andrew successfully guided them there. There was a huge door with a big lock attached to it. Marco was contemplating kicking the lock on the door down, but he decided to turn that down since it wouldn't have been a good idea. So Star took out the key that she found and put it into the lock that was shown. This caused a successful click to occur with the lock falling off and the door opening wide open. What they saw next surprised them. Marco was heard shrieking with excitement at this discovery with the red liquid energy at the bottom.

"It worked, we finally found it," the Latino was a little _too_ cheerful. The last time he was this excited was when he wanted one of those privacy wallets from Quest Buy.

"Calm down Marco, we're not done yet," Star assured him as they entered the storage room.

"Awesome, this is so amazing," Marco had those big eyes that he gets when he's rather excited. "No wonder this whole dimension runs on this stuff. This room is fueling with it. With this energy source, we could have a lot of stuff running without ever dying out. I could use it to fuel my vehicle! This is so amazing. If only I knew what the source is that's contained in this stuff!"

"Uh…" Andrew was struggling to find a compliment aside from the strange energy he was feeling. "I like the color."

Marco gave him a bewildered look as if he was nuts.

"Andrew, you're staring at one of the most successful wonders in this dimension, and the only compliment you have to give for it is that you 'like the color'?"

"Whoa," Andrew held his hands up in defense. "Sorry for spoiling your good mood, Marco."

Marco shook his head and sighed.

"Oh well, at least you appreciate the energy source that sits before us, right Star?" The karate expert asked.

He was expecting a response from her, but it never came. It then dawned on him that she was gone.

"Uh…Star?"

Now Marco was growing nervous as to where Star could be. It suddenly turned into concern when he heard Andrew shout:

"_What are you doing, you __**idiot!?"**_

Marco then whipped to see Star pulling on something contained in a giant grey machine. Marco yelped crazily as Andrew was about to storm over there to pull her away, but before he could, Star had already grabbed what she was looking for and went back to Marco and Andrew on the ground.

However, due to the fact that she took whatever was in that machine and she messed around with it, the sirens went off and the ground started shaking below them.

**"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" **Andrew roared towards Star, his voice going up several octaves than it should have.

"Whatever she did, she must've broken the energy storage tank," Marco looked nervous as he stared down to see the energy rising up towards them. "And from the looks of it guys, the energy is r-rising up towards us!"

As Marco stuttered in fear, Star and Andrew saw it rising for themselves. Yeah, Star's reckless stunt caused this to happen.

"What…what's going on," Star said meekly with wide eyes as Marco was too nervous to say anything.

**"**_**THIS IS GOING TO BE OUR DEATH BED SOON!" **_Andrew finally erupted as he whipped around and glared daggers at the girl who was responsible for this. "You just **HAD** to **MESS** with that **MACHINE**, didn't you **STAR!?" **

"Andrew, I-"

"Nice going there, _princess," _he spat sarcastically.

"But I-"

"You _really _did it this time!"

Star didn't say another word. Instead, she grabbed Marco and Andrew and planned on getting the three of them out of there and up to the top…

* * *

Team Dread was still a bit peeved that they couldn't find any Ludo in plain sight. Regardless, they rode up another elevator which once it got to the top; they speed off like a rocket. They hardly stopped for anything since they rammed right through any monsters that got in their way, with Upsilon firing missiles at any incoming monsters in front of him.

Eventually, they kept going until they ended up in a room that was vastly different from all the other rooms they explored previously.

"Hey, could this be…the energy storage tank," Nebula examined the room for herself. Yes, they entered a room similar to the one Team Star was in as the liquid was below them. However, because of Star's reckless stunt, the liquid energy below was rising.

"Uh guys, the energy liquid is rising from below," Janna found herself getting nervous as they had to ascend too.

"Emergency alert: Use flight to get to the top and evacuate in a safe and dignified manner!" Upsilon announced.

"Thanks for the news flash Upsilon," Nebula deadpanned as she grabbed Janna and flew up while Upsilon used his hover boosters to get up there. "And before you ask Janna, I did _not_ do this. I wasn't even here. How about you Upsilon, did you do this?"

"Negative: I was aiding you guys and not present at the scene of the incident," Upsilon stated.

"It doesn't matter who did it really," Janna begged. "Just as long as we can get out of here!"

Because of the impending danger that was below them, they had to waste no time to get up to the top, as their lives were now at risk. However, they were halted when they saw one thing above.

"Hey guys, those barrier devices look like the ones we saw on the paths on the way over here," Janna exclaimed. "I guess they'll only be destroyed if all of the monsters are taken out."

"Ugh, we don't have time for _this_," getting out her wand with her free hand, Nebula fired several dark purple lightning spears towards the bat monsters right in front of her. The barriers and devices were destroyed, allowing them to continue without a sweat.

"Now that's what I call fast thinking," Janna smirked.

"Let's just get out of here safely," Nebula grunted.

"Affirmative: Our safety is our top priority." Upsilon beeped as he kept hovering to the top.

Their flight trip upwards didn't last long, since they made it to a spring that catapulted them up through the ceiling door and got them out of the danger zone.

"Wow, that was wicked close you guys," Janna was catching her breath as they were now on the same skyscraper roof that the Demonstrix were on.

"Well, we still made it out alive, like we always have," Nebula crossed her arms.

"May we recommence the hunt for Ludo," Upsilon asked.

"Sure thing, after I catch myself," Janna panted. "After what just happened, I'm not letting anyone get in my way…"

* * *

**WITH TEAM STAR:**

"We got to get out of here, now!" Star cried out as she was carrying Marco and Andrew up to avoid the mess that she caused.

"We wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for _you_ Star," Andrew snarled. "You should have known better than to touch that contraption!"

"The platforms below us are sinking!" Marco panicked.

"This whole thing was Star's fault," Andrew continued his rant. "We end up finding the generator, and what does she do? Messes with the machine, she breaks the darn thing and now we're fleeing for our lives!"

"You know what, stop it! Just stop it, Andrew," Star snarled back. "I'm sorry alright!? I didn't know this would happen!"

"None of this would have happened if you hadn't had done what you did!"

"Alright, _I'm_ an idiot, but can you save the rants for when we make it up to safety!?"

"Jeez, you're doing all the work for me," Andrew huffed.

"That's it, stop it! _**Both**_ of you cut it out," Marco had had enough of them bickering while they're trying to get to safety. "It's really hard for us to get out of here with the both of you going at it! You two have to get along if we have any hope of getting out of here!"

"Huh, so you're saying that if we stop arguing, we'll get out faster? Ha, okay then."

_"ANDREW!"_ Star scolded him.

"What, all I said was-"

"That does it, if you two don't stop _arguing_, I'll leave the _both_ of you behind and save _myself_," Marco finally snapped and warned them.

"You wouldn't do _that_," both Star and Andrew said together. Star said it with some worry with those blue sparkly eyes being shown, while Andrew had a shocked expression upon seeing Marco finally tell them off.

"Well…no," Marco admitted. "But you guys are really making me wish that I should."

As Star and Andrew gave guilty glances towards each other, they didn't say another word as they continued up the room and directly towards safety. The exit to the roof was already unblocked so once she was up close, Star managed to throw both Marco and Andrew up through it before flying up herself so they could get out of there.

Fortunately, they made it to safety as they were panting their hearts out from the daring getaway. It was shown that they were on the same skyscraper roof that Team Sparkle was on.

"Alright, is everyone alright," Star asked.

"Well, aside from a bruised head, I should be alright," Andrew rubbed his temple as he shook his hat off before putting it back on.

"How about you Marco," Star approached him. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Uh, I still feel shaken up from that near-death experience," he panted. "But otherwise, I should be good…"

"That's good to hear." Star then went and caught her own breath.

After a few moments, Andrew trotted over to Star, demanding an explanation.

"Alright now you blonde moron," he started. "What the heck possessed you to fiddle around with that machine and commit such a stupid reckless stunt like that one? Maybe if you give me a good enough reason, I _might_ go easy on you."

"_This _is why!" Star tossed something in Andrew's direction as he caught whatever it was and glanced at it and looked surprised.

"…okay, so you had the right idea, but did you have to go through that much trouble?"

"What else was I suppose to do?"

"What is it, what is it?" Marco wondered as he got a look at what Star found and realized what it was; a gemstone that was glowing blue. Growing wide-eyed, he was completely taken aback. "The power plant was being run by a Miracle Gemstone!?"

"Apparently so," Star stared at the blue Miracle Gemstone she got. "Although I'm confused as to why the liquid was _red_ when this gemstone is the _dark blue_ one?"

"Probably because the magical energy from it got neutralized by the machine," Andrew took a guess.

"I knew it, I had a feeling all along," Marco concluded. "That energy was being run off on a magical source if it was able to flow with the power of the Miracle Gemstone!"

"I guess you were right Marco," Star gave him a happy smile.

"So anyway, the city has plenty of energy left over from before and it'll last before it runs out. Though I'm sure they'll figure out a way to generate some more again," Marco concluded. "So I guess it'll be alright if we take the Miracle Gemstone."

"But what about Ludo's monsters," Andrew brought up. "Won't they still be able to leech off the energy somehow?"

"Huh, you guys think that I would have pulled out a Miracle Gemstone without thinking of that, huh," Star was confident again. "I pressed a few buttons to up the security around the distribution pipes in the roads and the walls before pulling out the gemstone. That being said, I think this dimension will be okay."

"How did you know what to do?" Andrew queried.

"There was a button that said 'Press for electric security field around distribution pipe'. I happen to know _how to read_ you know," Star smirked, putting her blue Miracle Gemstone into her backpack.

Andrew could only facepalm and shake his head. "Only for Star…"

"So guys, I guess we can shove off now, right," Star got out her dimension scissors and was prepared to use them.

"Sounds good to me," Marco nodded. "Let's go."

"Alright, let's shove off," Star was about to use her scissors.

"Not so fast, Star…" Another voice was heard from behind them.

It was then Star turned white at the sound of that voice as she pocketed her scissors. She stopped breathing for a minute and she felt her heart stop for a second there. Without warning, she slowly turned around to see who that was that just spoke to her…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 5!**

**YUP, TEAM STAR HAS THE SECOND MIRACLE GEMSTONE: THE DARK BLUE ONE! **

**ANYWAY, FOR THE MOVE STAR BUTTERFLY OVERDRIVE, THE STUFF THAT CAME OUT OF HER WAND WHEN BEING ZIPPED ALL OVER THE ROOM WAS INSPIRED BY ALL THOSE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF HER WAND DURING THE INTRO THEME OF THE SERIES! THOUGHT I SHOULD LET YOU KNOW!**

**HEH, I AM GOING TO ENJOY WRITING THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**SO WITH THAT SAID, YOU CAN REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, AND TUNE IN FOR NEXT TIME!**


	7. T Star vs Sparkle! Dread vs Demonstrix!

**CHAPTER 6-STAR VS SPARKLE; DREAD VS DEMONSTRIX:**

* * *

"Gotcha, my _darling Star,_" Daron had smirked while Star came face to face with Daron. This was the _worst_ possible time for her to run into her biggest fan like this. Standing on both sides of the nerdy girl was Pony Head and Jackie, but Star didn't care about _them_. Her focus was _directly_ on Daron.

"D-Daron, what are you doing here," Star stuttered as she was growing anxious. This got Marco and Andrew to turn around and face the girly team too.

"Star, this time you're not leaving _without_ taking me," Daron declared as she waved her index finger.

Now the members of Team Star were faced with different types of emotions. Star, of course, had grown anxious about this occurrence. As much as she loves having Daron around, this was one of those instances where she shouldn't have come out here to see her. She remembered the instant back on the Space Colony GOD where she was held hostage by Ludo, and Star almost died as a result. At the same time, she wasn't going to fight Daron either, so what was there for her to do? Was Daron trying to get herself killed just to be with Star?

By contrast, Andrew felt nothing but indifference by this interference. He did not take these girls seriously and knew that one of them was Star's best friend on Mewni, the other one was her biggest fan, and the last one was the girl Marco is seeing and had been crushing on for years. To him, this wasn't much of a fight, but a conflict. They would be out of here in no time once a settlement has been agreed on.

And then there was Marco, who was growing wicked nervous. Not because of the fact that this was killing time, but because of who one of the girls that were with Daron was. His eyes were directly on the skateboarder girl in question. It was clear that sweat was dripping down his forehead.

_Oh my god…It's…It's Jackie Lynn Thomas… _Marco gulped. _W-What's she doing here? Oh no, I don't know what this is about, but I don't want to fight her. I could **never** hurt her! N-No, I'm __**not **__going to fight her, and I __**won't**__…_

Star shook her head as she wanted to settle what this was all about since they had to get a move on right now.

"Okay Daron, I don't know what _you_ want, but this _isn't_ the best time for us to chat," Star told her. "We don't have time to deal with this."

"But _we _do B-Fly," Pony Head cried out. "All I want is mah medallion back!"

Suddenly, Daron glanced towards the floating unicorn head and gave her a look, letting her know what else they were after.

"Uh, oh yeah, and we're looking for _a_ seashell necklace too," Pony Head added nervously.

Star was now shocked that they were accusing her of stealing something from them. Raising her hands up, she cried out.

"Look Pony Head, I swear I don't _have_ your medallion _or_ a seashell necklace," the princess of Mewni defended. "You must have me mixed up with someone else!"

Once that was said, Pony Head had a shocked expression about what Star said. But if that was true, then who was that girl in the newspaper photo? Was it all a trick that misled the girly team in the wrong direction?

Jackie meanwhile, was standing there motionless while taking in what Star said. As much as she believes the crazy princess of Mewni, she had to talk to Marco about it and show him the picture for himself. But she had to wait for the right moment to do that.

By sharp contrast, Daron still gave Star that _look, _which was a look that says that she was going to have her stick with her whether she likes it or not.

"Star, give up," Daron grinned as she gradually approached Star. "This time, you're _mine._"

"Daron, please knock it off," Star begged as she backed up slowly with Daron gaining on her. "There's no time to play!"

"Who said _I _was playing," Daron asked before pouncing on Star like a lion and having her in her grasp. Finding his voice, Marco suddenly spoke up.

"E-Everybody, get out of the way," he cried out before frantically rushing towards a line of crates which he jumped behind and stayed there, not wanting any part of this fiasco.

"Are you playing with that girls' _heart_ again Star," Andrew chuckled before helping himself onto another set of crates and got on top of them. He then lied down on them and watched the display right in front of him.

"I'm not _playing_ at all," Star yelled before facing Daron who had a tight grip on her. "I'm being serious! Please let me go, Daron! I **don't** want to _hurt_ you!"

"Not going to happen, Star," Daron refused. "Because the moment I do that, you'll leave _me_ in the dust for _another_ five months!"

Star really felt bad for Daron for leaving her for five months, but this was important. Taking out her wand, she then sighed.

"Alright Daron," she said regretfully _and_ shamefully. "I _warned_ you."

Lifting her wand into the air, she waved it around a couple of times before she cast a spell. The spell in question didn't have a name, but it caused Daron to let go of Star and was sent skidding back a few feet away from her. Daron blinked by what had just happened. Not wanting to give up though, Daron shook her head and started to rush _back_ to her idol. Seeing her charging back like a bull, Star reacted quickly.

**"ANDREW, BLOCK **_**HER!" **_She frantically yelled.

Andrew obliged as he jumped off the crates and landed right in front of Star, stopping Daron in her path. When the Star fan noticed this, she tried to get by, but the treasure hunter was all over her, doing everything he can to keep her away. Daron was getting annoyed by this as she growled.

"Get out of my way you nincompoop," Daron barked. "You're getting in the way between me and Star!"

"Oh can it, will _ya_," Andrew snorted before picking her up and spun her around. In a matter of seconds, he let her go and she was tossed right into a nearby pile of crates. The crates shattered once Daron landed on them. Star was thinking about leaving, but she wouldn't leave her partners behind in this dimension, so she remained.

Meanwhile, Marco was watching the display in front of him from beyond the crates. He just saw what Andrew did to Daron and saw Pony Head having a chat with Star, but he couldn't see Jackie in sight. That wasn't his only concern, as there was _another_ problem that he had to deal with.

_Look at the madness that is going on out there. I can't believe we have gotten into this mess especially since we are on a time frame! I don't know what the heck is going on, but I don't want us to stick around for much longer. _The Latino panted. _I don't know what those girls want, or what Jackie is doing with them, but I hope we can figure out how to make them satisfied…_

He clearly wasn't paying attention to what was behind him until he felt a tap on his shoulder and a voice spoke to him.

"Hey Marco," said voice belonged to Jackie, which got Marco to yelp and reacted accordingly.

"Oh no, please don't hurt _me, _Jackie! I didn't do anything wrong," he winced and jumped.

"Relax dude, I'm not going to hurt _you_," she got him to calm down. "In fact, I'm not _even_ going to fight you."

"Really, then…then what do you want with _me_ Jackie," Marco gripped his chest where his heart was. He then noticed that the orange seashell necklace she wore daily was missing. "And what happened to that seashell necklace that you wear all the time?"

"That's exactly what I _wanted_ to talk with you about Marco," Jackie got to the point. "You see, I formed a team with Daron and Pony Head because we had heard that Star was in possession of Pony Head's medallion and my seashell necklace. I have this feeling that she doesn't have them, but _I_ had wanted to speak to you about it since you're all smart and everything."

Before Marco could question her, Jackie took out the newspaper that she held onto and showed Marco the photo that was on the front page. What he saw next made his eyes expand. The photo was kind of blurry, but the person in it looked like Star and she was holding a medallion in her left hand. And in her right hand, he noticed that she was holding Jackie's seashell necklace that he quickly identified.

_So **that's** what she wanted to talk to me about! _

After examining it, he then frowned. Since he started traveling with Star again along with Andrew, Star never mentioned anything about a medallion or a seashell necklace and didn't show them to him at all. Combined with the fact that he hadn't seen the Mewni princess in 5 months, he didn't think that Star would have taken them without informing Pony Head and Jackie. Shaking his head, he expressed himself.

"Jackie, I've been with Star along with Andrew, and she had never mentioned anything about having Pony Head's medallion or your seashell necklace," he told her. "In fact, she never showed them to me _or_ Andrew. Therefore, I have to believe that Star doesn't have them on her."

Jackie had expected this and sighed.

"I should have known that she didn't have them," she frowned and looked disappointed.

"Listen, Jackie, I'm so-"

"No need to apologize Marco. It's not your fault," the skateboarder girl insisted. "Seriously, I _trust _you dude."

"But what if there's a possibility that Star was framed for them being taken," Marco suggested his input. "Like let's say someone else took them and made it look like Star did it to the point where she was framed for it?"

"Yeah, you might be onto something," Jackie smiled. "Yes, that would have to be the likely explanation. You know Marco, you're a _smart_ dude, and that's what I _like _about you."

"T-Thanks for that Jackie," Marco blushed lightly before noticing the madness going on in front of him again. "It seems things are starting to get out of control with our friends Jackie. Something must be done before it's too late."

"I agree," the skateboarder nodded. "Do you think you'll be able to handle it?"

"Well, I think Star will have it taken care of," the karate expert pointed out. "But just in case, if something does happen that goes off the deep end, I'll get involved and put a stop to it."

"That's my dude Marco," Jackie smirked before playing elbowing him and pecking him on the cheek, which got him to chuckle lightly. Both of them waited by the side to take action until it got completely out of whack.

By this point, Daron was infuriated. Not with Star, but with Andrew who was keeping her away from her idol. Gritting her teeth, she stomped over to Andrew with her fake wand in her hands. Seeing that fighting with her wouldn't do any good, the treasure hunter tried to reason with her.

"Listen to me Daron, we're on a time limit here and we don't have time for this. We have to get going now," he tried to get through to her. "And if we don't leave now, then we'll _all _be in BIG trouble."

"_YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT!" _Daron suddenly screamed before slamming her fake wand right onto Andrew's right foot.

**"YOWCH!"** Andrew howled while he started jumping and gripping his hands onto his throbbing foot in pain. Moments later, he got zapped by a laser beam that was shot at him, causing his hat to fall off. This was courtesy of Pony Head, who was now towering over him from above.

"Okay, your starting to get on mah nerves, you knucklehead," Pony Head snorted.

**"WHAT DID I DO!?" **Andrew bellowed as he grabbed his hat. "Daron was the one who attacked _ME!_"

Seeing that as his cue, Marco jumped onto another line of crates and jumped off of them, and went right for Pony Head from behind.

"_YAAAAAHHH!"_ Marco let out a battle cry before landing right on the back of Pony Head who was floating in the air. This led to a tussle as Pony Head was trying to get the _Earth Turd_ off, but to no avail, since Marco had a strong grip on her.

Andrew then regained himself and put his hat back on before seeing Pony Head struggling with Marco. He decided to aid the Latino in this scuffle.

**"THIS **_**MADNESS **_**ENDS NOW!" **Andrew roared before getting into a sprint and dashed right towards Pony Head, where he then delivered a harsh punch to Pony Head's face. Pony Head retaliated by poking him with her horn to get back before zapping him again with another laser beam that came from her horn. Seeing that he had to take the initiative, Andrew jumped off the nearby crates and grabbed a hold of Pony Head from behind, joining Marco in gripping onto her.

So here's what was going on currently: Pony Head was struggling to shake off both the karate expert and the treasure hunter with no amount of luck at all, Jackie was standing to the side while watching the madness occur before her, a sweat-drop came from the back of her head at what was happening, and then there was the ongoing dispute between Star and Daron, as the latter approached the former again.

"Please don't do this Daron," Star tried to reason with her. "I can explain everything if you'll just listen to me."

"Listen to me Star, I went through and traveled across a coastal ruins dimension _and_ this big city dimension **_and_** throughout the plant just to find you after having missed you for five straight months," Daron yelled. "Do you know what I've been through just to find you!?"

"Of course I do, but you have to listen, my friends have to go and stop Ludo from conquering the universe," the princess of Mewni explained. "We are on a three-day time limit and its almost the end of the first day! We need to get going now! I have way more important things to deal with than chat with you!"

"But you could just take _me_ with you!"

"I don't want to see you get _hurt _again Daron!"

"I'm not going to get _hurt _Star!"

"Remember what happened on the Space Colony GOD five months ago, when Ludo held you hostage? I don't want a repeat of _that!_ If something happens to _you_, I'll never forgive _myself!"_

Daron was about to say something in response, but Jackie ended up stepping in, wanting to end this madness too.

"I'm really sorry girls, but playtime is over," Jackie focused her attention on Daron.

"That's what I've been trying to tell her," Star wailed. "But she isn't letting _us_ go!"

"Don't try to defend _her_ Jackie," Daron huffed. "Talk some sense into her and convince her to let me tag along!"

"But Daron, we only came _here_ for Star because we thought that she had Pony Head's medallion and my seashell necklace," Jackie explained. "As I expected, I was right. Star doesn't have them, so there's no reason for this madness!"

"Jackie I-"

"I also talked with Marco about it and he also confirms that Star doesn't have our belongings."

"But I-"

"And I _**trust **_Marco." Jackie had put some emphasis on _trust_ to let her know that she trusts the one boy who has liked her since they were little children.

"But you and Pony Head were looking for your belongings," Daron protested. "I was looking for Star Butterfly!"

"You're _always_ looking for me, Daron. I should know that." Star groaned.

"Daron…" Jackie tried to talk some sense into her, seeing that this was getting out of control.

Fortunately, Daron then whistled for Pony Head.

"Pony Head, get over here now," she hollered. "I'm in need of assistance!"

Pony Head obliged as she managed to shake off both Marco and Andrew. The two of them landed right in front of Star.

Once Daron gave an explanation to her partners, Pony Head started unleashing some strange magic from her horn, Jackie was on her skateboard with her helmet on, and Daron had her fake wand out. The magic that was coming from Pony Head's horn showed a very colorful display that was glittery and had rainbows and flowers emerge. Daron spun like a ballerina before doing some waves and motions with her fake wand that looked like she was imitating _Sailor Moon_. Once Daron was in front with her wand placed near her face, a loud bang occurred as Pony Head circled Daron in the air while leaving behind sparkles and glitter while Jackie skateboarded in the opposite direction around her while seemingly leaving behind a trail of seashells. This was being done while the area around them was filled with flowers and more seashells. While Star didn't pay attention, Marco and Andrew were mesmerized by the display in front of them.

"Whoa, what is that suppose to be," Marco moaned in amazement.

"Yeah," Andrew agreed as he admired the beautiful sight. "Everything looks so colorful."

"I kinda like it," Pony Head boasted. "In fact, this makes me think of _invincibility glitter_. Yeah, that's it! This move is now officially called Invincibility Glitter!"

"I'll say, I think it's radical," Jackie smirked. "Radical and awesome that is."

"Oh yes, I think it's radical and awesome too, Jackie," Marco laughed nervously with a smile, seeing that if Jackie likes it, then _he_ should like it too.

Once Team Sparkle was done with their new teamwork move, the area around them blossomed with flowers and was covered with seashells. Seeing this as a diversion, Star saw this as her chance for her partners to leave with her.

"Marco and Andrew, come on," she pointed to the edge of the skyscraper. "We're getting out of here."

The Latino karate master and the treasure hunter obliged as they went to the edge. Before they left, Daron noticed this and was wondering what she was doing.

"Where do you think you're going," she asked.

"We have to leave now," Star took out her dimension scissors. "It's like I said, we have more important things to do right now than to stick around and chat with you!"

"WHAT," Daron cried out as Star spread her wings out.

Without warning, Star jumped off the skyscraper and started to fly. Andrew followed suit by gliding after the Mewni princess, and Marco jumped and landed on a rail that was heading in their direction. Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie approached the edge once they jumped off.

"We're awfully sorry about this, girls," Andrew apologized. "But we're in a bit of a rush!"

"Yeah, we _are _in a hurry," Marco hollered. "It's great to see you again though, Jackie!"

"I'm happy to have seen you again too, Marco," Jackie hollered back and waved at him, while Star cut open a dimension portal. "I'll see you later dude!"

"I'll see you later too, Jackie!" Marco shouted as Star went through the portal, and then the karate boy was grabbed by Andrew when they both entered the portal after Star. The portal vanished after that happened.

"But…But I…" Daron tried to build up some _anger_ towards her idol, but it never came. Not to mention that she felt that she had a point. Still, she was upset that Star had to leave like that. "Oh fine, I'll…I'll see you later Star!"

She frowned as she looked down towards the ground. How could she have let her obsession with Star get the better of her? She felt that she owes her teammates an apology.

"Hey girls, I want to say that I'm sorry for how I acted," she told them. "I knew you guys were looking for your stuff, but my obsession with her kicked in and made me forget what was more important at the moment; you guys getting your stuff back."

"Aw, you don't have to be sorry dudette," Jackie comforted. "We know that you have that strong obsession with Star, and it's nothing to fret over. Plus, I managed to talk to Marco again."

"Yeah gurl, not to mention I was able to talk to B-Fly for the amount of time that she could chat," Pony Head stated. "And besides, she says that she doesn't have our stuff anymore, and while I may be selfish at times, I _do_ trust B-Fly."

"Just like how _I_ trust Marco," Jackie nodded.

"I get that," Daron nodded in understanding. "But what should we do now since she doesn't have your belongings anymore?"

"I don't know about you, but I think we should get out of here and head for the next dimension," Pony Head got out her dimension scissors. "I think it's time to explore the next place to find our stuff."

"Yeah, I'd like to check out another dimension right about now too," Jackie smiled.

"Sure thing girls," Daron sighed when Pony Head cut open a portal. "Let's get going."

Without another word, the three girls then entered the portal which vanished right afterwards. They weren't aware that they were heading to the same dimension that Team Star was heading to…

* * *

Meanwhile, on the skyscraper next over, Team Dread was still shaken up after having escaped from the disaster that was heading for them. Janna was about to get out her dimension scissors so they could head out, but then she noticed the Demonstrix on the same skyscraper roof as them. Seeing them as a group of shady suspicious characters, Janna had this feeling that they were after what she wanted to claim. And she noticed that one of them was a demon, and while she felt demons were cool; demons also have this fancy of gaining very morbid objects and macabre decorations. She assumed that the demon wanted to claim Ludo's secret supernatural artifact for himself. Not liking this one bit, Janna growled.

"Ugh, what are those creeps doing over there," she sneered loudly.

The Demonstrix members have been given the instructions by their client to head out to the next dimension. While Buff Frog got out his dimension scissors, Tom froze in place. Before he cut open a portal, Buff Frog noticed something was wrong with Tom.

"Vat's up, Tom?" He had to ask before he put his scissors away for the moment.

It was clear that Tom had overheard what Janna said, and this got his attention entirely.

"And who would _you_ be?" Tom whipped around and faced Janna who was with Nebula and Upsilon. Buff Frog and Archibald examined the dreadful team.

"It doesn't matter who _I_ am," Janna scowled. "Just what do you think _you're_ doing here?!"

After examining the team before them, Buff Frog decided to ask the appropriate question.

"Who's this _floozy_ and her little pals?" The frog monster asked, surprisingly having heard the word 'floozy' from somewhere before.

After thinking for a second, Tom came to a simple assumption.

"Perhaps they happen to be our client's adversaries," the demon guessed.

"You mean…they're the BAD guys?" Archibald was wide-eyed when he revealed that.

"You guys don't _fool __**me," **_Janna barked as Nebula and Upsilon shook their heads. "I know exactly what _you're_ after! You better stay out of _**my**_ way!"

"Right," Nebula and Upsilon took that as the signal to attack the opposing team. This caused the Demonstrix to yelp and scatter in different directions. Before anything happened, Nebula and Upsilon came to a halt before they made their announcements.

"Step back, and let _us_ get to Ludo first," Nebula scoffed.

"What, but we're not after-" Tom tried defending but was then struck in the right cheek by a hairdryer, courtesy of Janna.

"Don't try lying _demon_," Janna scowled as she held her hairdryer in her right hand. "I'll find Ludo's artifact first!"

"Ludo is _mine_: Get out of our way!" Upsilon blared as he fired in all directions.

"There's _been_ a misunderstanding…" Tom tried to reason with them again, but his left cheek got struck by a kick from Janna's boot. This caused Tom to topple over and fall flat on the ground face first.

_But I doubt that they'll listen to us now… _Tom sneered in his mind.

"Vatever their reason, if they vant fight, I'll give them _fight,_" Buff Frog let out a battle cry before charging after Nebula while Archibald took to the sky while avoiding Upsilon's arsenals.

Once Tom managed to lift himself up, he came face to face with Janna who had a cocky smirk on her face. Feeling something had gotten triggered inside of him, Tom let out a snarl as his eyes turned red and then he lifted his hands up into the air. He summoned a flame wheel that surrounded Janna. In a matter of seconds, Janna was now circled by a wall of flame, which trapped her while Tom was shown gritting his teeth.

"What the…HEY," Janna yelped. "GUYS, GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Nebula and Upsilon did not come to her aid since they were dealing with their own targets.

Nebula was soaring through the air with her wings while she was dealing with Buff Frog. The frog monster constantly tried to grab a hold of her, but she was within reach.

Nebula was firing away her dark purple lightning spears at her appointment, but Buff Frog was able to leap and jump out of range, showing that he's improved from the days he fought Star Butterfly under Ludo's name. Despite this, Nebula didn't hold anything back as she kept firing away at him.

Having just about enough of this, Buff Frog leaped into the air to aim a punch at Nebula. But since she was flying, she dodged it and then countered with her own punch, striking the frog monster right in the face which caused him to fall over onto the ground. Having about enough of being on the defensive side, Buff Frog grunted as he got up.

"Alright, now you've asked for it," he whistled which got Archibald right by his side. Buff Frog grabbed Archibald and held him as if he was a gun.

"Really, and what's _that_ going to do to us," Nebula cocked when she landed on the ground with Upsilon getting beside her.

"OPEN FIRE!"

Buff Frog then spun around in a circle with Archibald in his hands as the gargoyle was shooting spits of acid from his mouth in all directions. Nebula took the clever approach and got out of range while Upsilon remained standing and took the impact, completely unaffected by it.

"My _steel_ covered exterior remains immune to the _poison_ toxins launched in my direction," Upsilon declared. "Therefore, I remain unaffected by the attack."

After being let go by Buff Frog, Archibald suddenly sneered.

"Now I'm _really_ mad!" He shrieked while flying up to Nebula and bit her on the left arm. Feeling the impact, she yelped before she grabbed a hold of the gargoyle by the neck and tossed him right onto the ground.

She then dashed over to Buff Frog to land another punch on him, but she didn't count on Tom emerging in front of her from the flames and to also _block_ her. The demon pushed her back and kept her from doing what she was about to do.

"Hmph, beginners' luck," Nebula wiped her mouth and narrowed her eyes at Tom. "But perhaps you could be some sort of a challenge."

"Hmph, well we shall _see _about that," Tom sneered back in her direction.

Both of them engaged in a fight. While Nebula was flying with her wings, Tom was levitating to keep up with her. Dark purple lightning spears and fireballs were tossed in separate directions. For every lightning spear Nebula fired at Tom was countered with a fireball that Tom threw in exchange.

Nebula decided to get physical by kicking Tom in the stomach. The demon recoiled from the impact and gripped his stomach, but he decided to return the fire by launching a fire punch towards the dark girls' face. Even though it left behind a _burn_, Nebula shook it off like it was nothing and hoped on performing a roundhouse kick towards the demon. Tom anticipated this as he ducked underneath and avoided the attack. He found that his next punch was blocked by Nebula too. The dark girl back away in the air and fired a dark purple beam of energy at her opponent, only for Tom cause some flames to surround him and he vanished. This confused Nebula as she looked in all directions.

"Hey, where did you go?" She demanded.

"Why don't you look behind you?"

Just as Nebula did just that, she was struck by a flaming ball that was launched at her, causing her to fall back onto the ground of the roof and skidding in a rather unpleasant manner. Tom reemerged from the flames in front of her just in time for the dark girl to glare at the demon.

"Wrong move…"

Tom expected something to happen and went on the defensive. "Bring it on! I can take on _anything_ you can throw at me!"

"Really," Nebula smirked darkly as she took out her green Miracle Gemstone from her back. "Well try_ this_ on for size."

Tom then noticed she was up to something and backed a couple of feet from her. Meanwhile, Upsilon activated a fire extinguisher feature with his arms and used it to free Janna from the wall of flames that she was trapped in. Meanwhile, Archibald was trying to rip off Upsilon's head which he couldn't while Janna tried aiming kicks at Buff Frog, who constantly dodged them. Once they saw Nebula had her green Miracle Gemstone out, Janna ceased her attack on Buff Frog to get out her dark magic spell book from her backpack while Upsilon activated the inferno cannon. Tom had tried to gain the assistance of his teammates but was met with a foot on his back that belonged to Nebula.

"I don't think so," Nebula deadpanned while she placed the green Miracle Gemstone into her wand and held it like so. "Miracle…"

Janna had opened her book to that _one_ page when she and Upsilon approached the demon.

"…LEVITATO!"

"Here it comes. Ominous Dreadful Black Magic Wave Blast!"

Suddenly, Tom felt frozen along with Buff Frog and Archibald, as Upsilon shook Archibald off of his head moments before this happened. Then they were surrounded by spooky smog and then Upsilon fired his inferno cannon on him along with Buff Frog and Archibald, causing quite a bit of damage. Once the effects were off, Janna put her book away, as the Demonstrix felt scorched and they were shivering from the supernatural images that they saw. Tom, in particular, let out a hoarse cough.

"Ugh, what did you do?!" He hacked with scorched marks on his body.

"Something that you'll _never_ be able to comprehend," Nebula told him as he pocketed his gemstone. "I hardly understand it myself."

Just as Nebula was mulling in her thoughts again, she had sensed someone running up to her. Unfortunately, her reflexes weren't quick enough when Buff Frog landed a punch to her back with all of his might, sending Nebula spiraling over towards the edge of the roof. Janna was quick as she grabbed a hold of her hand before she fell off. Since she was caught off guard, Nebula wouldn't have been able to fly back to safety in time. As such, she was lucky that Janna saved her.

"Tom, are you alright," Buff Frog rushed to his partner's aid. While he was busy doing that, Archibald took notice of Upsilon locking onto them and preparing to fire at them. Archibald tried to give his teammates the incoming warning, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Well, I guess it's my turn to be the hero!" Archibald cried out.

"Target: locked and loaded!" Upsilon blared, launching a laser projectile. Nebula and Janna watched from the distance and they noticed that Upsilon had a missile aimed straight for Tom and Buff Frog.

Of course, something that Upsilon didn't count on was a gargoyle that became a hindrance to the open fire.

"Yahoo!" Archibald shouted while getting in front of Buff Frog and Tom to keep Upsilon from firing at them. Buff Frog only needed a second glance to see that Archibald was taking the blow for them.

"Archibald, vat are ya doing!?" Buff Frog guffawed in disbelief as the missile Upsilon fired was launched towards the gargoyle. He then saw Archibald shot over his head as he was crashing back to the ground. He landed with a thud moments later. Buff Frog had to hurdle over Tom as the demon was still resting on his side, still recovering from the blow of the Miracle Dark Inferno Blast.

"I missed…" Upsilon said. "But the target was _still_ acquired."

"Dang, and I thought I was _ruthless,_" lifting himself up, Tom tossed several fireballs at Nebula and Janna, which knocked them over. When they were down, Tom rushed to the aid of their fallen gargoyle too.

"Archibald, Archibald! Speak to me vill ya," Buff Frog wailed in an overly dramatic manner. "I'm sorry that Tom said that you veren't _needed_ by us! If ya say something, I'll make him pay for that!"

"I beg your pardon," Tom raised an eyebrow, not at all amused by what Buff Frog just said, but the frog monster just ignored him.

However, after a few unbearable seconds, Archibald opened his eyes and acted as if nothing happened.

"Oh wow, that was cool, wasn't I great or what? I just saved your life _and_ Tom's life," Archibald told them. "And by the way, I wasn't dead. I was just playing _possum_! It's what possums _do!_"

Now Buff Frog was dumbstruck by this. In fact, he was so _dumbstruck_, that he only snapped too when he felt a hairdryer hit him in the back of the head, which caused him to fall back onto the ground. This came from Janna, who held her hairdryer firmly in her hands as Buff Frog sat back up and rubbed the back of his head.

"Ouch?"

"You know, it would be best if you guys kept your guard up while _we're_ still around," Janna mocked in a teasing manner while a smirk crossed her face.

"Huh, before picking fight, better know vho you're up against," Buff Frog growled. "Vee could have you three _arrested_ for assaulting three detective agents for no _legitimate_ reason."

"Yeah, you three are the _bad guys_ who act like playground bullies and beat people up," Archibald jeered. "I bet you _kick_ puppies too; ones that shoot lasers from their eyes!"

"Please Archibald…"

"You think _we're _the bad guys," Janna grunted while folding her arms. "If anything, we're doing _you_ a favor! Just stay out of our way if you know what's good for you! You'll end up thanking us later in the end!"

"By being bunch of thugs _and_ rogues, yeah right," Buff Frog scoffed.

"This suspicious monstrous group must be exterminated," Upsilon blasted as he was taking aim once again. Tom had witnessed this as he was at his_ breaking point._ This group of renegade fiends attacked them for no reason and they think they can get away with it? Not if he had anything to say about it.

_**"ENOUGH OF THIS!" **_Tom roared with a _demonic_ tone in his voice. With his eyes bright red with rage, he rose up to the air and was about to unleash a rather demonic attack on these thugs.

Before he could do that, he felt his hands being caught in a tight grip, courtesy of Nebula who was looking at him with an icy cold glare of her own, which got Tom's attention.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she hissed venomously. "You best give up now and leave before you _really get hurt."_

Tom had thought about cooking this girl to ashes, but then he remembered the attack that she used on him. Considering the raw power of that move and the fact that Nebula had a lot of unlimited ultimate powers stored in her wand, Tom felt it was best to just step down not just for his sake, but for the sake of his two partners.

As a result, Tom descended back down onto the ground with his eyes going back to normal and motioned his team that they should get going. As Buff Frog cut open a dimension portal, Tom gave Nebula, Janna, and Upsilon one last glare.

"You won't get off so easily next time," the demon sneered as he approached the portal Buff Frog cut open with Archibald.

"You should thank me for letting you live, _you demon,_" Nebula hissed back as the Demonstrix went into the portal and headed to the next dimension. The portal disappeared within minutes as Team Dread felt like they had won that fight.

"Suspicious Monstrous Group: Destroyed!" Upsilon declared their victory.

"Alright, since we took care of them, we better get going too," Janna took out her dimension scissors and cut open a portal. "Let's go to the next dimension and hope we'll run into Ludo there."

"Fine by me," Nebula huffed.

"Affirmative," Upsilon obliged.

The three of them entered the portal and headed to the next dimension, which was the same one that the Demonstrix were heading too, which is also where Team Star and Team Sparkle were heading too as well. Once they entered, the portal vanished as they acted like their problems were over.

But in reality, their troubles were just beginning…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 6!**

**I REALLY ENJOYED WRITING **_**THIS**_** CHAPTER! I ENJOY HAVING THE OTHER TEAMS INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER! IN FACT, I FEEL THIS BOSS CHAPTER IS BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS ONE!**

**THE FIGHT AGAINST TEAM STAR AND TEAM SPARKLE WASN'T REALLY A FIGHT BUT A CONFLICT! I JUST COULDN'T DO A FIGHT AGAINST THOSE TWO TEAMS SINCE I DON'T SEE THE TWO TEAMS GETTING IN A REAL BRUTAL BATTLE! I STILL LIKE HOW IT CAME OUT THOUGH!**

**SO OTHER THAN THAT, YOU CAN REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE! ASIDE FROM THAT, THAT'S ALL FOR NOW!**


	8. Casino Dimension I

**CHAPTER 7-CASINO DIMENSION I:**

* * *

In the casino dimension, it was nighttime as the area looked as lively as Las Vegas. There were many flashing lights and neon signs, and a lot of the buildings and platforms resembled different gambling games including poker, pool, a roulette wheel, a pinball table, and there were several slot machines too. There were several architects that were shaped like a dice and there were poker cards used as platforms too.

Team Sparkle was the first to have arrived in this dimension, as Daron was still hurt about what had happened back on the skyscraper.

"Aww," she whined. "I still can't get over how Star cut and ran the way she did. And I thought we had her and the belongings that you two were looking for…"

"Perhaps it was for the best Daron. I mean we did stall them when they were in a hurry," Jackie pointed out.

"That's true gurl," Pony Head nodded. "But if B-Fly doesn't have the medallion and the seashell necklace anymore, then who does?"

"That I'm not sure about Pony Head," Daron honestly said.

"Well if what Marco told me on the skyscraper is anything to go by, there's the possibility that _someone else_ stole them and framed Star for doing it," Jackie brought up.

"But who would want to frame Star like this?"

"You don't suppose Ludo might have something to do with this, do you gurl?"

"Pony Head, you might be onto something," Daron came up with an idea. "That's it! Now I know what we must do! We'll find Ludo and then we_ might_ find your stuff and I'll be able to find Star again! Are you girls ready?"

"Absolutely, but where are _we_ anyway?"

"Huh, it appears that we are in some _casino _dimension, Jackie."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Jackie realized something. "Aren't Daron and I _too young_ to gamble?"

"Maybe on Earth, but it's different on Mewni," Pony Head got their attention. "On Mewni, you only have to be at least 16 in order to gamble, which is different than how Earth handles it."

"Wow, and why does Mewni allow this to stand?" Daron was curious.

"Uh…I don't remember the full details or how the ordeal goes," Pony Head struggled. "Star actually knows more about how this law stands and why this came to be."

"Fair enough I guess," Daron shrugged. "What do you say we check out this place and have a little fun before we track down Ludo?"

"Yah gurl," Pony Head was psyched. "You know how to have a killer time! Mah medallion and that seashell necklace can wait. Let's party!"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to gamble a little," Jackie smiled casually. "Who knows, it might be really fun."

"Sweet, let's go girls!"

At Daron's command, the three girls then headed off through the casino dimension to try out some of the fun games for themselves before finding Ludo…

* * *

"Whew," Star huffed as she and her teammates were the next to arrive. "Daron certainly doesn't give up that easily."

"Well you have to admit Star, Daron certainly has a lot of persistence just to be with you," Andrew joked as the portal closed behind them.

"I know that, but we are on a time limit," she reminded. "I feel _sorry_ for how I pushed her away like that, but I had no choice."

"I see what you mean Star," Marco understood. "It was great to be able to talk to Jackie…"

"Hey guys, what is this place we're in any way," Andrew directed their attention to the casino area. "It sure is bright here…"

Immediately, Star's eyes begun to sparkle as this was the perfect place to have some fun.

"Woohoo, we got some time on our hands," Star beamed. "Are you two feeling _lucky_ tonight?"

"Uh Star, may I remind you that we only have 48 hours left on our hands," Marco told her.

"Yeah I know," the princess waved her hands. "But we have plenty of time to have fun here!"

"And that's another thing I need to bring up with you Star," the Latino started. "In case you didn't notice, this is a casino dimension we are in. What I mean by that is that we're too young to be gambling!"

"Oh Marco, don't be silly. That might be how it rolls on Earth," Star revealed. "But on Mewni, you only have to be 16 or older to gamble."

"Say what Star," this got both of her teammates confused.

"That's right. We are _old_ enough to gamble on Mewni, and yes they _do_ have casinos on Mewni," Star smiled. "The reason for the difference in age restriction is because the government of Mewni which is run by monarchy had signed a peace treaty which would allow people to gamble at such a young age. This was done due to the fact that the people of Mewni knew how to gamble wisely at such a young age and aren't as vulnerable to addictions as humans on Earth or other people in different dimensions. The legislation that was passed allows people 16 and over to go to the casinos just to have some fun, so that's why we are _old_ enough to gamble on Mewni."

Marco and Andrew were speechless by the explanation she gave and how gambling is different on Mewni than it is on Earth. Finding his voice, Andrew spoke first.

"Uh Star, how did you know all of that?"

"Oh Andrew, there are a lot of stuff you don't know about me when it comes to my knowledge of Mewni."

"Yeah, when it comes to Mewni culture, Star is a whiz with memorizing her Mewni history."

"That actually makes _a lot_ of sense Marco."

"So since that's done, let's go have some fun before we stop Ludo within 48 hours," Star cheered.

Not getting a say in this, Marco and Andrew found themselves being dragged by Star through the casino as this was going to be one wild night in this upbeat dimension…

* * *

The Demonstrix arrived in the casino dimension quite some time ago as they examined the location around them. Despite having been beaten recently by Team Dread, they were still itching to accomplish their next mission by their mysterious client. They noticed how lively it looked and how one could easily get addicted this location. Archibald wanted to have fun, but Buff Frog was keeping a hold on him for the moment.

"Come on Buff Frog, let me go," he begged. "I want to check this place out and spice things up a bit!"

Buff Frog refused as he took another gander at his surroundings.

"Fancy place, wouldn't ya say, comrades," he admitted.

"Yeah, we are in the casino dimension after all," Tom huffed. "Let's get this over with."

"Yahoo," Archibald was released by Buff Frog as the frog monster got out the talkie.

"Now that you've finally arrived, here is your next mission," the next task was being given to them. "You'll have to disguise yourselves and infiltrate the dimension."

"I got a question," the gargoyle asked. "Would it be a problem if I wear a mustache or a dress as a disguise for the city?"

"Uh…I was only _metaphorically _speaking," the client felt that the question was awkward. "You boys don't have to wear a disguise."

"Well if you say so."

"Anyway, your mission tonight is to go and win $200," the client got to the point.

"Vait, hold it," Buff Frog jumped in. "You vant us to gamble? How should vee win it?"

"It doesn't matter really; you can win it in cash or by change," the client sounded casual. "As long as it's $200, it'll count."

"Very vell then," the frog monster was willing to go with that.

"I should also tell you that this is a test of luck," the client added. "So good _luck, _and have fun gambling up to $200."

"Fair enough," Buff Frog put the talkie away. "There's plenty of vays to gamble here, so let's check out enormous pinball tables."

"Isn't there an age restriction on how old we're supposed to be to gamble?" Archibald brought up an excellent point.

"Now that you mention it Archibald, the age restriction on Mewni is you have to be 16 to gamble," Tom revealed. "This is due to the monarchy of Mewni signing a peace treaty and had passed one legislation that allows gambling at a young age."

"I don't understand how Mewman could gamble at a young age," Buff Frog remarked. "In any case, ve're _old_ enough to gamble, so let's go and win $200."

"Alright, let's do it," Archibald cheered.

"This ought to be an interesting night," Tom mused as the three of them headed out to gamble and win $200 for their client…

* * *

Team Dread had arrived in the dimension recently too as they were patrolling the casino dimension. Nebula and Upsilon were rather triumphant about their latest victory. Janna, on the other hand, was starting to feel some second thoughts about how she reacted towards the Demonstrix and how she started it all. Not only that, but they were surprised and clueless by the accusations that she made. It didn't seem like they were after Ludo's secret artifact after all. And that demon; the demon she saw was wicked cool, but she had to spoil it just by attacking him. She could have made a really good friend with the demon.

"You know, I'm beginning to wonder if those guys were _innocent_," Janna mused to herself. "I mean the demon was pretty cool. Never mind, I'm just going to drop it and just put that behind me for now."

It was then Upsilon detected Ludo's presence along with his monsters.

"Monster presence detected within two hundred meters: Engaging battle mode," Upsilon then charged on ahead with Nebula right behind him.

"Hey guys, wait for me," Janna cried out as she had to catch up to her destructive teammates.

As Upsilon handled some of the monsters in their path, they got a good look at the casino dimension and noticed how lively it was. It was impressive even for Nebula.

"Wow, this is a rather cool city," the dark girl smirked in admiration.

"Reminder: our top priority is Ludo," Upsilon boomed. "Don't forget that: there's no time to waste!"

"What, I'm not allowed to enjoy a good view every once in a while," Nebula deadpanned.

"You know, you're being too serious Upsilon," Janna moaned. "It's rare for something to attract Nebula's attention."

Nebula simply huffed and crossed her arms.

"And besides, what's the harm in checking this place out," Janna had this sudden urge to gamble. "Casinos are the way to go, and I am really in the mood to gamble right about now."

"Permission denied," Upsilon detested. "Gambling leads to diversion."

"Not only that but aren't you a little _young _to gamble," Nebula raised her eyebrow. "I know I've never been gambling in my life, but at your age, it seems questionable."

"It doesn't matter how old I am," Janna threw her arms up. "Who do you think you're talking to? Janna Ordonia: the girl who is willing to break rules just to have a little fun in her life!"

"You better not inhibit our objective of locating Ludo," Upsilon warned her as he marched off and took out another army of monsters.

"He's right, we are only here because Ludo is in this dimension," Nebula protested. "Not so we can watch you gamble your life away."

Without another word, Nebula ran off to join Upsilon in brawling with the monsters. This caused Janna to frown and sigh.

"Ugh, no wonder I'm _not_ having any fun," she complained. "I'm stuck with an amnesiac girl who's looking for _answers_ and a killer robot that's craving _revenge _against Ludo. It sucks because I want to _gamble_ so badly."

She had thought about cutting her team and gambling by herself, but if she did that, her teammates would destroy everything and people would be killed by the aftermath. As such, Janna shook her head and followed her teammates as they were on the hunt for Ludo…

* * *

Daron was at a loss for what she could do in a place like this first. There were plenty of options to choose from, from all the roads made up as a pinball table, to the games of poker and blackjack going on in all directions by monsters. Their objective here was to take a break before finding Ludo and getting back Pony Head's medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace. So what should they do first?

Before Daron could ask the first question, she stumbled off the edge and ended up barreling down a pinball table like a ball. Pony Head and Jackie gasped as they looked at their leader going down the pinball table.

"Whoa girls," she called. "What's going on here, is this a pinball table?!"

"Duh gurl, you just went onto a building that's part of a pinball table," Pony Head went after her.

"In that case, where is the pinball?!"

"Don't you get it, gurlfriend? You _are_ the pinball," the floating unicorn head joined her as they both rolled down the table like pinballs.

"That's interesting to know Pony Head," Daron reflected before calling for her other teammate. "Hey, Jackie come on, join us!"

"Yeah Jackie, it'll be a blast!" Pony Head promised.

"Alright, I'll be right there," the skateboarding girl called back to them.

Taking a deep breath, Jackie jumped down and landed on the pinball table where she also became a pinball and rolled down the table to join up with her partners.

"See gurls," Pony Head cheered. "Isn't this great or what?!"

"Yeah, this is magnificent!" Daron applauded.

"I have to say that this is terrific," Jackie hailed out in excitement. "This is _AWESOME!"_

The three girls let out their respective cheers as they tried out the pinball table and check out the slot machines that were on it too while they were at it…

* * *

"I know I said this before," Marco glorified. "But this entire dimension is like one big casino!"

"Perhaps that's why they call it the Casino Dimension," Andrew encouraged.

"I hope you two are being sarcastic," Star interjected. "Because I already explained _this_ to you guys…"

They both shrugged as they continued onward when Andrew started to explain that the buildings and roads are all part of a pinball table, while the other platforms resembled a poker board, a pool table, and some poker cards too, with several dies spinning and moving as architects. Marco had discovered that when they land on the pinball table, they become the pinballs as they roll down the table in all directions. This happened after he fell onto a pinball table himself.

"Wow, that's pretty cool guys," Star jumped onto the pinball table next as did Andrew. It was clear that the girl was having fun. "This place actually reminds me of the Bounce Lounge, and the Amethyst Arcade. Don't you remember those places, Marco?"

"How could I forget those places?" The martial artist smiled.

"Wait, did you say Bounce Lounge and Amethyst Arcade," Andrew ended up on the ground off of the pinball table as those two places sounded familiar to him, at least the latter one did.

"Yeah Andrew," Marco ended up on the same ground as Andrew. "You see, Star and I visited the Bounce Lounge and the Amethyst Arcade that I explored for the first time on the night I first met Pony Head; Star's best friend from Mewni. Even though Pony Head wanted me out of the picture by leaving me behind in the Amethyst Arcade, where I was interrogated by those guards from St. Olga, Pony Head came back after being called out by Star."

"That's right," Star was still on the table. "Even though the Bounce Lounge shut down with the picture booth being in our possession, we did go back to the Amethyst Arcade nine months ago after learning that there was a Miracle Gemstone located there!"

"I had gone to the Amethyst Arcade too, which was _also_ nine months ago," Andrew revealed.

"You did," Marco was interested while Star continued to act like a pinball on the table.

"That's right. There was an accident where my Ruler Gemstone got shattered and I had to retrieve the pieces to it," Andrew exposed. "3 of them were located in the Amethyst Arcade. One was in a fountain, another was in one of the games, and the last one was somehow ledged underneath a giant gold statue of Star Butterfly."

Yes, Star and Marco had heard about the Star Butterfly gold statue that was built in the Amethyst Arcade and Star wanted to bring Marco to check it out while searching for the Miracle Gemstone. However, by the time they had gotten there, the statue was mysteriously shattered to pieces and it was gold rubble, which upset Star to no end.

Marco's eyes grew to the size of saucers when Andrew revealed that, while Star overheard Andrew say something about a piece being ledged underneath the gold statue of her. As such, Star got off of the pinball table and pinned Andrew to the ground, demanding an answer.

"And just _how _did you get that Ruler Gemstone piece out from underneath _my _gold statue?" She warned with a rather unpleasant tone.

Andrew knew he made a _big mistake _when he brought that up, but he answered her anyway.

"Uh…I smashed the statue into pieces and retrieved the Ruler Gemstone piece from the rubble…"

"_YOU WERE THE ONE WHO BROKE MY STATUE?!" _Star suddenly screamed in anger.

"OH CRUD," Marco panicked. "I'm taking THAT as _my_ cue to AMSCRAY!"

It was then Marco fled and took off from the area, not wanting to witness the incoming conflict between Star and Andrew…

* * *

The Demonstrix members were looking around as they decided that they should try out the pinball table. The problem was Buff Frog was trying to find them a suitable pinball table to try out so they could win $200 with no troubles. It was clear that he was being picky with his decision.

"You know Buff Frog, this dimension has a lot of pinball tables that are all the same," Tom expressed. "In fact, we can choose whichever one we want to try out."

"I know comrade Tom, but I want to choose one pinball table carefully," Buff Frog looked around some more. "Making important decision should be as simple as writing signature."

"No offense Buff Frog, but you are _terrible_ at writing," Archibald prompted.

"I know, I do not go to school to learn fancy handwriting," the frog monster rolled his eyes.

He then set his eyes on the perfect pinball table.

"There, vee go check out that table," he pointed to a particular table.

"That's cool with me," Tom decided to go with it.

"Yeah, let's go have some fun."

Once the gargoyle exclaimed that, the three of them headed to the pinball table Buff Frog pointed to so they could win their $200…

* * *

Team Dread had stormed through the area and shattered through a glass floor when the strangest predicament occurred.

They landed on the table below and were turned into pinballs.

"Okay, I take back what I said about this place," Nebula deadpanned. "This is ridiculous."

"Come on Nebula, I think this is kinda cool," Janna said.

"How is this even possible anyway?"

"Sensors indicate that this occurrence has lead to us turning into pinballs," Upsilon answered. "Therefore, we are bouncing off of unidentified objects and scattering in different directions."

"Thanks for the answer," Nebula grumbled. "It's official. I hate this place now."

"Stop being a big grouch Nebula," Janna cried. "This is fun! I'm actually _enjoying_ this ride!"

With a huff, Nebula went down the table as did Janna and Upsilon. Nebula couldn't stand the flashing lights, Janna was laughing and hollering and Upsilon was grumbling about them 'getting distracted again'. Janna actually tried out one of the slot machines on the pinball table, and to her absolute surprise, she won $20 from getting three faces of Andrew, causing her to cackle and whoop about how much fun this was. Sadly, it didn't last long, since they finally got back to solid ground.

"Finally off of that crazy ride," Nebula snorted. "And good riddance for that too…"

"Please Nebula, it wasn't that bad," Janna smirked. "Apart from that, I manage to win $20 dollars from the slot machine, AND I'M A WINNER BABY!"

"Jeez, you and your interests in gambling," Nebula rolled her eyes. "Let's just keep going and avoid any more of these casino amusement pinball rides that are plaguing this area."

"If you say so," Janna shrugged off. "In that case, it's time to go up, _Ms. Unsmiley_."

Nebula was bamboozled by the name she just called her but disregarded that as she picked up Janna and flew upward with Upsilon hovering after them…

* * *

"Woohoo," Daron shouted gleefully. "This is so much fun! If I'd known about this, I would have come to this dimension ages ago!"

"I know right," Pony Head followed in excitement. "This is the most amount of fun we've had all day!"

"Right on Pony Head," Jackie was clearly having fun too. "I've should have tried this sooner!"

"We all should have, right Pony Head?"

"You know it, Daron!"

At the same time, they were also getting by the table by using the flippers push them upwards which ricocheted them upwards. Up ahead was a slot machine that Daron wanted to try out.

"Hey, it's a slot machine," Daron smiled. "I'm going to try this out for myself!"

When she went in, she got the three slots to stop one by one. She was hoping that she'd get three faces of Star, but instead, she got three faces of Marco, which earned her $85.

"Aw shoot, I got Marco," she complained while picking up the $85. "I was hoping that I'd get Star."

"YAHOO, I GOT THREE MARCOS TOO," this came from Jackie. The normally calm and stoic skateboarder girl was enjoying herself as she also got $85. "YEAH, I'M A NATURAL AT THIS BABY! _WOO!"_

"Awesome and I got three faces of Andrew," Pony Head cheered as she got $65 from the slot machine she tried out. "This isn't too bad if I must say so myself!"

Eventually, the three of them got off of the table and made it back to the ground level where they continued through the casino dimension…

* * *

Marco was smiling sheepishly as his two friends were on both sides of him. On the left was Star, who was pouting and crossed her arms since she had just thrown a temper tantrum, and on the right was Andrew, who was now sporting a black eye courtesy of Star, and he was not at all thrilled about that. This silence was really unsettling so Marco decided to lighten up the mood.

"So uh…nice weather we're having tonight, huh...?" His question went disregarded as Star spoke to Andrew.

"I can't believe you broke my statue you big meanie," she hissed.

"What the heck is your problem," the treasure hunter snapped back. "Is your ego still feeling _butt-hurt_ 9 months after the accident happened?!"

"This has nothing to do with my ego at all," Star shouted while throwing her arms out. "The arcade wanted to do something to honor me for being the rebel princess that I am and for restoring all the magic in the universe! Just the picture of the statue captured me perfectly as I wanted to bring Marco to see it with me, only to see that it was smashed when we got there! Do you know how crushing it was to walk in there and see statue be reduced to rubble that you oh-so hardly gave a second thought for?"

"Look what could I have done to get that piece out from under the statue," Andrew defended. "Dig a hole underground and reach the piece that way?"

It was then Star stomped her foot again like a little kid. "I dunno, maybe lift the statue up with one hand and grab the piece with the other? If you're _strong_ enough to smash down stone walls, what's stopping you from doing that?! But then again, why am I bothering with talking to a reckless treasure hunter."

"Who are you calling _reckless_," Andrew bellowed. "If there's anyone here who's reckless, it's _you _Star Butterfly!"

"You don't like having your shiny green Ruler Gemstone smashed to pieces, so you should know how I felt when you did that," Star snarled. "Maybe I should break your dumb gemstone to pieces so you can suffer just as much as I did when you broke my statue!?"

"Uh Star, you actually weren't _suffering_," Marco tried to jump in. "Also, you shouldn't be the one to talk since _you_ broke that possum statue in front of the school that one time…"

"You break _my_ Ruler Gemstone? Ha, that's a riot! Good luck with doing that," Andrew snorted as Marco went unnoticed. "_I'm_ the only one who can break the Ruler Gemstone apart!"

"It doesn't take a genius to pick it up and drop it from such a high height and have it shatter when it lands you know," Star argued.

"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!" Andrew scowled.

"But I would," Star then came up with an even better solution. "Better yet, maybe I should use the whispering spell on the Ruler Gemstone so it could be destroyed right before your eyes!"

That did it. Andrew was originally peeved when Star attacked him from throwing a temper tantrum, but after what she said, now he was beyond that. No, he was enraged and infuriated. Star was willing to use the whispering spell on the Ruler Gemstone and risk destroying magic _and_ endangering the entire universe all because of a stupid statue? Nope. This was personal.

**"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND STAR!"** Andrew exploded with pure rage and shock. "You are willing to destroy my Ruler Gemstone with the whispering spell over a _stupid_ statue!? Don't you get it? Several consequences would occur from doing such a horrible feat! Think about why I have to guard the gemstone in the first place! Think about what'll happen when you use the whispering spell on it! All magic **could** be destroyed. Mystical beings that thrive on magic **could** be _killed_ off. All the dimensions in the universe **could possibly** end up merging into one! And would it be _oh-so-nice for the people of Earth to have to wake up every morning to see a floating island in the sky_ that would result in culture shock?" He added the last part with sarcasm before pausing for a moment.

"Which reminds me, said island _wouldn't_ be floating in the air since the Ruler Gemstone would have been destroyed and in case you've forgotten; my island _runs_ on the magic of that gemstone! And with it gone, the island will sink and potentially create a tremor that could send people packing! **YOUR SELFISH ACTIONS WOULD ENDANGER US ALL!"**

"Well, it's a small price to pay after what you did to my _statue,_ Andrew," Star barked back.

"Uh, guys aren't we taking this a little too far…" Marco meekly said. Andrew had had enough with the childish immature princess of Mewni who was in front of him, and he was going to end this once and for all.

"Look here, _princess, _the only reason we're here is due to the fact that we won't be able to stop Ludo by ourselves," Andrew growled. "Say whatever the heck you want, but you know it's true! Until then, I don't want to_ talk_ to you. I don't want to _look_ at you. I DON'T EVEN WANT TO **_ACKNOWLEDGE _YOUR EXISTENCE!"**

"Ouch, so it's come to _this_," Star bellowed. "Alright fine then! Who am I to make the nincompoop happy!? You don't want to talk to me ever again knucklehead!? Fine! I'll do the _same thing _for you! Let's just carry on and stop Ludo before the universe gets turned to shambles and then we won't _ever_ have to speak to each other again, you got that _punk!?"_

_**"****FINE BY ME!"**_ Andrew roared back.

Without another word, both of them turned around and huff, stomping away in two different directions as they left Marco behind, who was taking in everything that had occurred just now. There was no doubt that he was upset by how their team was breaking up.

"So…I guess it _isn't_ a wonderful night after all…" He whimpered as he started to struggle on figuring out what to do next…

* * *

It didn't take long for the Demonstrix to end up on their first pinball table. They too had noticed the strange occurrence of becoming pinballs upon touching the table.

"Vhoa, vat is happening?" Buff Frog was confused by this.

"If I'd known better, the pinball tables here are huge and once we land on the pinball table, the three of us turn into the pinballs where we can bounce off of stuff and ricochet from one bumper to another," Archibald clarified.

"I see comrade Archibald."

"Aside from that, this place definitely seems like my specialty since I always wanted to go to a casino and gamble the night away."

"Gambling might sound fun to you on the outside," Tom started to explain in a rather ominous tone. "But it comes with a catch; the horrors of addiction where you want to keep playing and you end up screwing _yourself _in the end. To elaborate, the more you gamble, the longer you want to continue to gamble, and then you'll be caught up in it that you find yourself wanting to play forever, and with addiction kicking in, YOU WILL NEVER WANT TO LEAVE!"

"This is true," Buff Frog heaved. "Vich is vhy little children under 16 aren't allowed to gamble their hearts out. I haven't exposed this to my children since it vould scar them, and they should think about better things in life."

"Of course we know Buff Frog," Archibald smiled when he noticed a slot machine. "Hey, there's a slot machine! That can win some money for us. Let's try it out!"

"Might as vell," Buff Frog decided to go with it.

"Sure, this might be cool…I guess." Tom sighed as they decided to try out the slot machines to see if they could win $200…

* * *

"Alright guys here comes some _more_ monsters," Nebula warned Janna and Upsilon who were ready for battle. There were several Craw monsters as well as bat monsters and turtle monsters. The craw monsters here were actually dressed in very goofy looking outfits that are typically worn in a gambling joint like this dimension.

"Whoa, what's with the ridiculous costumes," Janna retorted. "And where did he get the time to design these outfits for these monsters?!"

"You said that Ludo had been inactive for months correct," Upsilon double checked. "Five months precisely like you told us before, right?"

"Yes, but from what I heard, Ludo had _retired _from evil," Janna frowned. "I thought that with him retired, he would have turned over a new leaf and would not have done evil acts again…"

"Well, it seems like something brought him out of retirement and got him into the evil act again," Nebula quaffed as she took down a monster by shooting a dark purple lightning spear at it. "But aside from that, I have to wonder what Ludo has his sight set on in this dimension. Unlike the Coastal Ruins dimension and the Big City Plant dimension, there is absolutely nothing here for him to gain."

"It's possible that Ludo has a secret gambling streak and wanted to come here to live it up while taking a breather." Janna guessed, hitting a monster with her hairdryer.

"I seriously doubt it," Nebula punched another monster in the face. "Although it's not entirely possible…"

"Speaking of which, did any of you noticed how the Eagle Tank Ludo was piloting went down so easily without a fight?"

"Impossible: we unleashed the Miracle Dark Inferno Blast on the creation, which delivered a powerful strike," Upsilon blasted the turtle monsters. "It was perfectly justified."

"That's not what I…oh never mind then," Janna kicked another monster while Nebula shot down the bat monsters with her wand, which shot purple energy beams at them.

After they defeated the horde of monsters, they continued on, only to run into another group of monsters. But these monsters were different from the other. For one, they looked like mutated octopus monsters that are capable of kidnapping its prey and having a good grip on them. Nebula and Janna were about to beat the tar out of it, but Upsilon stopped them and warned them of the incoming dangerous.

"Beware, those are the octopus monsters," he informed. "Those monsters could grab you with its tentacle and kidnap you with a firm grip and you won't come back until it is assimilated."

"I see…" Janna took him seriously and backed off. Nebula, on the other hand, seemed more confident.

"Oh please, these monsters can't be any more dangerous than the ones we faced already. So what are you all afraid of?"

"Nebula, wait," Janna tried to stop her but she already headed for the octopus monster.

Then right on cue, the octopus monster grabbed hold of Nebula and kept her in a tight grip lock while floating away with her in its possession.

"Nebula," Janna cried out as Upsilon was about to open fire, only for Janna to stop him. "Don't shoot!"

"Why not?!"

"Because you might _shoot_ Nebula!"

"Well, that's a risk that has to be taken!"

"NO!"

As Upsilon kept firing away at the octopus monster, accidentally hitting Nebula in the process, Nebula was trying to break from the grip but was unable to do so since it was such a strong grip.

"Release me at once," she barked, but the octopus monster ignored her plea as it kept going.

"Alright Upsilon," Janna noticed the octopus monster was _high_ up. "You can start shooting away."

"LUDO'S MONSTERS MUST BE EXTERMINATED!" Upsilon boomed as he went after the octopus monster while firing away, with Janna trailing right behind him as they hoped on rescuing Nebula from that octopus fiend…

* * *

"Wow, look at this place," Daron was walking on the red carpet with Pony Head and Jackie right behind her. They saw how bright and colorful it looks. "It looks like I just stepped in Las Vegas."

"No kidding dudette," Jackie laughed in agreement.

"It's too bad that they don't have a shop around here or a place to get a drink," said Daron. "I really wanted to get triple Stars in the slot machine…"

"What's wrong with triple Marcos Daron," Jackie raised an eyebrow. "You won plenty of money from that slot machine: eighty-five dollars to be exact."

"I know," she moaned. "But I wanted my triple Stars."

"Well I got triple Marcos too if that makes you feel better," the skateboarder smirked. "I must say this; Marco is my _good luck_ charm."

"Heh, the way you say it like that Jackie makes it out as something _entirely different_," Daron smirked.

"Yeah, and triple Andrews ain't too bad either," Pony Head admitted before looking confused. "Though what I want to know is why do these slot machines have faces of Star, Marco, and Andrew on them?"

"I…I wish I had the answer to that Pony Head," Daron was unsure about that. "But unfortunately, I _don't_…"

It didn't take much time for them to end up on a roulette wheel where they became pinballs again. They spun around the wheel like they do in the roulette games and it felt like it.

"Whoa, we're spinning on the roulette," Daron squealed with excitement. "This makes me think of the way roulettes are handled in casinos back on Earth!"

"Right back at ya gurl," Pony Head smirked. "This is a pretty wild experience!"

"Yeah, this is pretty cool," Jackie said.

They ended up off the roulette wheel and onto another pinball table. But to Daron's disappointment, this one didn't have a slot machine.

"Well girls, there's _no_ slot machine here," she muttered. "So I guess our only decision is to go upwards."

The three of them went with that as they went spiraling upward with the flippers and ended up on the solid ground again. They then walked onwards only to run into another pinball table with a slot machine that was giant compared to the others.

"Oh my god, a giant slot machine," she gasped. "Let's go girls!"

The three of them went onto the pinball table.

"I can't wait to get triple Stars on this one!" Daron declared.

"And I'm more than alright if I end up with triple Marcos again," Jackie admitted.

"I don't care what I get as long as I'm having fun," Pony Head boasted.

"Just don't get three Ludos or else you'll lose your money," Daron warned.

"Yeah, sure, like I didn't know that," Pony Head brushed off confidently. "I'll be careful, I'll swear."

And so the three of them checked out the slot machines on this pinball table too as they were having a blast…

* * *

Marco was stuck in a pickle. Here he was thinking of a solution to the problem that occurred while both of his teammates were doing their own things. However, due to the latest argument, they weren't talking to each other. Star was busy fooling around and goofing off on the pinball table while Andrew was pacing impatiently just to get out of here. Because of his latest argument with the princess, he had no choice but to put up with her foolish shenanigans.

"Woohoo," Star cheered. "Let's see if I can get triple Stars for this one!"

She entered the slot as all three of them stopped. However, instead of triple Stars, she got triple Marcos instead. She won $75 out of it.

"Getting triple Marcos isn't too bad," Star claimed the cash. "You see that Marco, your faces bring me good luck! It's like you are my _good luck_ charm!"

"Heh-heh, yeah I know," Marco smiled nervously as he found it hard to be in a good mood. He witnessed Andrew tapping his foot while wanting to get a move on.

"This is beyond ridiculous," Marco grumbled under his breath. "I don't mind the simple quarrels, but this has gone _way over the line_."

"Oh yes, time to get triple money again," Star whooped as she collected more of the money that she earned. "How come I'm the only one enjoying myself here, this is the best dimension I've been to yet."

Getting the courage he needs, Marco finally decided to get Star to move along.

"Uh Star, I'm sorry for ruining your fun, but we really should get a move on before the time limit is up," he told her while glancing at Andrew, who gave him a look of approval. Star didn't want to satisfy Andrew, but seeing Marco wants her to get moving so much, she decided to oblige.

"Alright Marco, we can keep going." Star sighed.

"We can always go to another casino some other time," Marco suggested.

"Yeah, I mean what other dimensions could have a casino that'll allow us to gamble the night away," Star asked as they pressed onward, with Star keeping her distance from Andrew.

"On Mewni perhaps," Marco suggested in a shy manner…

* * *

It was quite apparent that the Demonstrix members were not having a _lucky_ day at all. This was mainly because the most amount of money that they won was a measly $10, which was lost after encountering some bad luck on the slot machines. Seeing that Buff Frog was having the _worst luck _with earning some money via gambling, Tom was afraid that he'd drain them out of every penny that they could earn.

Archibald was currently bouncing off the pinball table by ricocheting off of every bumper, flipper or ramp that he ran into, so he was occupied. Eventually, Buff Frog ended up in another slot machine, which caused Tom to grow tense.

"Come on already Buff Frog," he growled. "Don't screw this up."

"I'm doing fine, comrade Tom," unfortunately, Buff Frog got triple Ludos. "Drat, triple Ludos again."

Tom started to narrow his three eyes at the frog monster. "At least allow me to give it a try."

"No, I've got this," Buff Frog was confident in spite of losing their money.

Of course, the next three tries ended up in the same result: triple Ludos which led to them not gaining a penny since they lost what they had so far. Archibald was beginning to slow down his antics as Tom groaned and facepalmed.

Afterwards, Tom got Buff Frog and Archibald to leave the table to check out another one.

"Perhaps it would be best if we tried another pinball table," the demon suggested. "One that isn't as rigged or unlucky as this one?"

"Or vee should try some poker," Buff Frog pointed to a nearby poker game that some monsters were playing at.

"Hey, what is poker anyway?" Archibald never heard of poker before.

The frog monster sighed as he knew this would be a _long_ explanation.

"It's a long story Archibald," he started the description of poker. "It starts like this…"

* * *

No matter how many times he fired away, Upsilon was unable to shoot down the octopus monster that Nebula held hostage. This was likely due to the fact that he kept hitting Nebula instead of the actual monster. Janna had no chance of taking down the fiend, but she kept up her persistence and continued to chase after the monster.

Nebula wasn't willing to let this fiend get away with capturing her.  
"You are going to regret kidnapping me like this," Nebula sneered as she squirmed some more. This only resulted in the monster gripping onto her tighter.

"_I mean it; let me go this instance."_

Nebula felt herself being dragged higher and higher as she was getting further away from her teammates. She didn't know which of the three facts were worse; that she was away from her team, that she was captured, or that the monster gripping her refused to let go.

"Do…_not…__**oppose me…"**_

Janna and Upsilon were hot on its tail as Upsilon started to fire away with Janna looking concerned. However, before they could do something, the strangest occurrence happened.

Nebula had gotten outraged as her eyes started glowing red as were her cheek marks, _and_ the gem on the front of her skirt; all three parts were shining bright red that eventually encased the octopus monster into a ray of wrath.

In a matter of seconds, the monster suddenly exploded without an explanation. This caused Janna and Upsilon to be confused with what had just happened. Nebula floated back down when Upsilon caught her with his own hands. Janna was unable to say anything about what had happened so Upsilon asked instead.

"What happened, Nebula?"

"I don't know," Nebula shook her head. "One minute I was struggling to break free when I was getting angry, and the next minute, that octopus monster _exploded_."

"I willing to guess that your anger is destructive," Janna assumed.

Nebula did not appreciate that accusation one bit as she whirled around to glare at the nightmare loving girl.

"You really think I did that?!"

"It's not known that monsters can self-destruct," Upsilon pointed.

"But…but how could I have possibly…" Nebula was staring at Janna and Upsilon right in the face as she was not sure how this happened. Suddenly, she refused to believe it as she stomped off. "No, I refuse to believe it! I'm not destructive, and I didn't cause that blast!"

Janna and Upsilon exchanged looks before following after Nebula. They knew nothing about this circumstance that had occurred; the monster couldn't have exploded at all.

But if it wasn't Nebula or the monster that did that, what else could have _caused_ it?

* * *

"Andrew, how come you're letting _this_ go on," Marco asked in a serious tone.

"And how come you're talking to me instead of that princess of Mewni over there?" Andrew countered.

"Because I already know what _she'll_ say," Marco frowned. "It's just the way she says it that reassures me."

"Uh huh, sure it does."

"With you, I can always get a direct answer from you and you mean it. It might be brutal honesty, but I know you mean it," the Latino confessed. "Star, on the other hand, is more of some self-esteem pick me up if you know how it goes."

"Not really; not that I know of…"

As Team Star kept going, Star and Andrew were still ignoring each other's existence. Star was once again playing on the pinball table like a total goof-off. She ended up winning at the slot machine and gained a good $100 from getting triple Stars.

"Alright, that was awesome," Star gloated. "I'm so good at this, that I should be considered the _Star _of this pinball table, huh?"

She was hoping for a response from Marco or at least a glare from Andrew, but they were too busy talking to each other to notice. Star shrugged her shoulders and kept playing.

"Oh well, must've not been paying attention." She kept it going.

"…besides, to me, she's more of a self-esteem _killer_," Andrew continued as he crossed his arms. "I didn't know that dumb statue meant so much to her. She shouldn't have been on the defensive side and threatened to use the whispering spell on my Ruler Gemstone. To me, she's such a selfish immature baby."

"This is the kind of thing that's going to keep up from making any progress," Marco exaggerated. "Isn't it wrong to strain your friendship over something so preposterous!?"

"Try telling that to _her,_" Andrew insisted. "She was the one who _started_ this nonsense."

"We really can't get anywhere with you two being at each other's throats," Marco protested. "And you can't blame it _entirely_ on Star, because you're half of the problem!"

"Not my fault that we're polar opposites. It's like going against the groin with that girl."

"But you two became good friends somewhere down the line," the Latino considered. "I mean opposites _attract_, right?"

"As far as I'm concerned, opposites can _repel_ too," Andrew stated simply before jumping down from where they were sitting. "I'm going on ahead to take care of business that _needs_ to be taken care of. You can either stay behind and goof off with Star or come with me so we can get things done. It's _your_ choice."

Marco watched sadly as Andrew went on ahead without them while Star continued to fool around on the pinball table.

"Dang it, so much for that," Marco karate chopped a wall, only to wince afterwards. "Ouch, we're never going to get by here and get to Ludo."

Despite this, Marco wasn't going to give up until Star and Andrew could finally bury the hatchet and make peace with each other.

"I can't give up, there has to be something that can get them on the same page again," Marco started pacing. "I better think of something soon, or else we'll all be in big trouble…"

He then went over to where Star was and motioned her to follow him before he went and followed after Andrew, with once again, Star and Andrew keeping their distance…

* * *

After the explanation was done, the Demonstrix decided to play on a pinball table again.

"Now it's my turn," Archibald was going to give the slot machine a try. "I'm going to win big time!"

Buff Frog had picked up the money that he won so far, which in this case was $20. The frog monster stared at the gargoyle going for the slot machine.

"Just don't foul this one up comrade Archibald!"

"I won't Buff Frog," Archibald called out.

"At least you were able to gather twenty dollars from before," Tom glanced at Buff Frog. "However, I refuse to allow you to splurge it all."

"Huh," Buff Frog crossed his arms. "And how d'you suppose vee win anything?"

"Like _this_," Tom snagged one dollar from the twenty dollars Buff Frog had and gave it to Archibald.

"Vait, vat?"

"Yahoo!" Archibald then took the one-dollar into the slot machine with him. The slot machine started to spin as the gargoyle was getting excited.

"Come on, anything but Ludo," Tom had hoped that this wouldn't backfire.

Once the first wheel stopped, it showed a picture of Andrew.

Once the second wheel stopped, it showed another picture of Andrew.

"Please, you can do this Archibald," Tom prayed that the third picture was of Andrew.

Suddenly, Archibald jumped out and got Triple Andrews from the slot machine, which earned him $60 in cash.

"Yeah, I did it! And they say that gargoyles can't gamble or use the slot machine!" The gargoyle shrieked.

"I don't know if they can," Tom was skeptical before giving him a smile. "But you did a great job, Archibald. At least someone is making some great progress."

He turned to eye Buff Frog in response.

However, after what he just witnessed, Buff Frog didn't speak. He fainted…

* * *

Nebula's mood had _soured_ again since she got back on the pinball table, which wasn't helped at all by what had just happened previously. The dark girl had made several attempts to ricochet out of the pinball table, but Janna had to explain to her several times that they needed to work together to escape.

"Why," Nebula sneered. "So you could accuse me of causing something _else _to blow up?!"

"Well, there was that _one _building back in the city dimension-"

"UPSILON," Janna had to yell to get the robot to stop before she faced Nebula again. "Listen to me, Nebula, we didn't mean to upset you when we assumed that you caused the blast. We just didn't know how it happened, because it happened so suddenly…"

"Do me a favor and don't _mention_ it again," Nebula warned coldly. "I don't know how it happened, and I don't _care_ either. All I want to do is to find Ludo and get the answers I'm looking for."

"Well," Janna started to tell her. "There's something else that I have to-"

"Exterminate and destroy: fire, fire!" Upsilon suddenly boomed as he pushed past Nebula and Janna to blast down an incoming monster. It was an octopus monster; the same one who tried to kidnap Nebula, only it was much bigger.

"This can't be good," Janna covered her eyes.

"Blow it up already Upsilon," Nebula roared.

"I'm trying, but my weapons aren't efficient enough."

"I'll handle this then," Nebula then jumped up and flew towards the big octopus monster. While the monster was diverted by the killer robot, Nebula took the moment and fired a dark energy lightning spear at it, taking it out in an instance, where it vanished immediately afterwards.

"Doesn't compute: how come my arsenals weren't enough to blast that fiend away," Upsilon was confused.

"Probably because it was impervious to your weapons," Janna suggested meekly.

"In that case, were the other monsters impervious to his weapons too," Nebula asked sarcastically.

"Doubt it," Janna shrugged while walking away with Upsilon. "Upsilon was able to handle the other monsters with no problem."

"Fair enough," Nebula uttered as she followed along, narrowing her eyes as she did so…

* * *

"Oh come on, so I'm a criminal for wanting to unwind and enjoy myself while we're in this dimension, seriously?" Star had asked as she was trudging behind Marco and Andrew. "Listen, we could all have some fun if you can loosen up a little."

Neither Marco nor Andrew responded to her comment. This got her to sulk even more.

"It's not like I'm totally against the reason we're out here in the first place. I want to stop Ludo as much as you guys do," Star cried out in a pleading manner. "I'm just stopping to smell the flowers, or in this case, playing on any of the casino games that we can find on the pinball tables!"

"You're _breaking _our agreement," Andrew replied flatly, getting Marco to facepalm.

"Well…so are you!"

"Because you have already broken it, so it doesn't matter anymore…"

"HALLELUIAH," Marco yelled in exaggeration. "Hurry up and make peace with each other already! This nonsense has gone on long en-AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"MARCO!" Star and Andrew cried in unison as the Latino had been captured by a gold octopus monster that had a tight grip on his body. Naturally, the karate dude couldn't break free.

"This isn't what I planned! This puts my life in danger," Marco yelped as he was taken away. "HELP!"

"Wait, what plan did you have," Andrew tried to holler but his words met deaf ears. Suddenly, Star grabbed Andrew's hand as a serious look cross her face. "Whoa, what the heck are you _doing_ Star!?"

"You're coming with me," she insisted. "We are going to put our _differences_ aside for this occasion so we can save Marco."

"Wow," Andrew realized something. "This seems_ vaguely_ familiar."

"Of course it is," Star dragged him. "Now come on, let's go!"

Out of sure hope that she could catch the monster, Star tried to drill after it, but sadly, this led to her crashing into a sign which broke apart when she hit it. This got Andrew to shake his head.

"See and you're calling _me_ reckless," he murmured. "Next time, let_ me_ do the drilling."

"It was a great plan," Star defended. "It just wasn't executed properly!"

"Because you _can't _drill the way _I_ can," Andrew informed her. "Now if you want to save Marco, you should come on."

The two of them made a chase after the octopus monster that kidnapped Marco. They crashed through a glass window and ending up falling over. Luckily, because they could fly and glide respectively, they didn't have to worry about getting injuries.

"Now that that's taken care of, let's give chase," Star affirmed.

"For the first time since we entered this dimension, I have to agree," Andrew didn't bother arguing. "Let's go save Marco."

Both of them continued their chase just so they could save their Latino partner…

* * *

Tom, Archibald and Buff Frog were on the move again after having gone on the recent pinball table. After Tom took a turn on the roulette, he got $20 from the collection and they put it with what they had so far. As of now, they had $100; halfway from where they _needed _to be.

"I just hope we don't lose any more of our money," Archibald prayed.

"Well, we did lose _some _money when Buff Frog _had_ to go one on one with_ that_ monster," Tom grumbled.

"Hey, that monster vas giving me stink eye," Buff Frog defended. "Any monster vho gives me stink eye is asking for _trouble_."

"Whatever," Tom rolled his eyes. "You're just lucky that Archibald managed to retrieve and gather up what you lost. We need to focus since we're only halfway from $200, and time is scarce."

"Jeez Tom, you're treating this like mission; I mean this is casino dimension after all."

"Because frankly, this _is _a mission," Tom barked. "We got to prove to our client that we are worthy of accomplishing this mission; untrustworthy or not. And since this is the test of luck, then we'll have to start gathering stars, hearts, horseshoes…"

"And four-leaved clovers and blue moons," Archibald finished.

Before Buff Frog could retort to either of them, the Demonstrix stopped dead in their tracks.

In front of them was a huge tower. And on top of it was a giant slot machine.

"Vow," Buff Frog whistled.

"It's…gorgeous," Archibald was in awe too.

"Yeah, this slot machine looks _different,_" Tom noticed.

"Besides the fact that it's bigger," Archibald queried as he and Buff Frog shot him a look.

"…yes." The demon could only utter as they decided to investigate it moments later…

* * *

Star and Andrew were _still_ making chase after the monster that captured Marco. They tried to fly after it as fast as they could, but they had to overcome many different obstacles along the way. One of them was the pinball tables that were a drag since it stalled time. Another one was the fact that they encountered another octopus monster that was bigger than the one that abducted Marco.

"We have to take out this monster before it captures one of us," Star declared. "Otherwise, we'll never be able to come back! These things are dangerous!

"No need to tell _me_ twice," Andrew got his fists ready. "Now let's take care of this."

Andrew made the first move by drilling down and burrowing underground, only to come back up and ascend from being the big octopus monsters and drill the fiend down. He then proceeded to punch the monster right across the face.

"Hold it, Andrew," Star rushed over. "Now I'm going to take down this monster!"

"Just tell me _when_," Andrew held the monster down with his bare hands. Star charged up her wand and decided to open fire.

"Now Andrew: Cupcake Blast!" The moment Star shouted that did Andrew jump out of the way and allowed Star to fire a cupcake blast at the octopus monster, putting it down and taking it out of commission.

"Wow, nice one Star," Andrew complimented.

"Thanks, but it's not over yet," Star informed him to follow her as they continued. However, when Andrew saw what was at the end, he grimaced.

"You can't be serious."

"But I am serious," Star told him. "In fact, this is the most serious I have ever been in a long time."

"Whoa that's a first," Andrew blinked. "It's a first with seeing you as serious as you are currently."

"Yeah, the last time I felt this _serious_ was when Toffee _kidnapped_ Marco," Star brought up. "Now speaking of Marco, get into the cannon so we can save _him_!"

"Ugh, I guess I have no choice," Andrew followed her into the cannon. "Let's get this over with…"

The cannon fired and launched both of them onto another pinball table. It was far off, but they could hear Marco's cries and pleas in the distance, meaning they were close to rescuing him.

"Okay, now we just have to get up this pinball table, and then we'll be able to save Marco," Andrew instructed. "You ready for _this_ Star?"

"I'm ready as I'll ever be."

Star and Andrew then went ricocheting off of several bumpers and ramps just to ascend the pinball table. They both decided to use teamwork; Star used the flippers while Andrew used the bumpers to keep their momentum going. Eventually, they managed to reach the top with little trouble, only to find that they were at the base of a stairway.

"Something seems to be up there, but we can't go that way…" Andrew trailed.

"I hope Marco isn't _that _way then," Star admitted as she knocked the lights out of a monster with one punch. There was a chute leading downward that both of them decided to jump to from. They then dove down with hopes that Marco was just up ahead…

* * *

"Okay, I think I get the basics of how this thing works," Tom explained to his still gawking teammates. "So this slot machine is just like the other ones, but we use actual pinballs in addition to entering the slot machine."

He showed them the three life-sized pinballs to prove his point.

"Now as I was saying, the amount of money paid out varies depends on the matching symbols we get."

"I think we should know _that _by now," Archibald concluded.

"Yes, but with this one, we can raise the stakes," the demon added.

"Uh, how so," Buff Frog snapped out of his daze.

"Simple, we could get a maximum of $200 can be paid out with one ball. But that number can get tripled when there are three balls in the machine, totaling it to $600."

"Awesome," Archibald was cheering when Tom told him to stop since he wasn't finished yet.

"However, as we've known from our previous gambles in this place, there are times where we can lose our money too, so we have to be careful not to play _too_ much."

"Hey, how did you figure that out?" The frog monster was puzzled.

"There was actually a neon sign behind us that explained everything," Tom deadpanned while pointing to the neon sign. "I have no idea how we missed that when we first walked by."

"So much for us being '_detect_ive agents' huh," Archibald snickered while Buff Frog rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," Tom held the three life-sized pinballs out to his teammates. "Who would like to go first?"

* * *

"Marco!" Star exclaimed as she came to an abrupt stop at the bottom of the chute with Andrew crashing into her. This sent them both into a heap, but they sprung in time to dodge an attacker that was sent by Marco's kidnapper.

"Star, Andrew, you made it without strangling each other's throats!" Marco cheered. "I thought I was doomed!"

"I guess you bring out the best in _all _of us Marco," Star said with a chuckle before turning to face Andrew.

"Yes, since you've been kidnapped, both of us put our differences aside just to save you," Andrew admitted.

They dodged another attack that the gold octopus monster threw at them.

"Of course, Andrew had to be stubborn about everything…"

"Really, and who was throwing a temper tantrum about the statue?"

"Well, you're the one who started the whole 'silent treatment' and look where that led us!"

"I only did that because you _threatened_ to use the whispering spell on my Ruler Gemstone, which could _endanger_ us all!"

"Oh man," Marco groaned as he was still held by that octopus monster. "We were so close…it was almost over…"

The gold octopus monster was annoyed by this as well.

"Dang it Star, you had to start it again," the treasure hunter scolded. "I almost thought we could actually put this behind us, but then you had to add fuel to the fire again!"

Star huffed and turned away. "This whole thing started because you admitted to breaking the statue, and you could see how upset I was. I was an idiot to think that one of my best friends would feel guilty for doing something like this, but instead decides to deride me over this!"

"I _did_ feel guilty," Andrew shouted. "And that's exactly _why_ I couldn't have told you in the first place!"

"Well, it didn't seem that way when you were yelling at me," Star countered. "You didn't even apologize for it!"

Before Andrew could come up with a retort, Marco was heard screaming when the octopus monster gripped him tighter. This caused Star to believe that enough was enough so she charged for the monster with her wand readied when she noticed that Andrew was charging right alongside her.

He gave her a smirk in exchange.

"I'm sorry, okay? If I had known that it meant that much to you, then I wouldn't have broken it at all…"

Andrew started by giving the monster an uppercut before Star went and dished out a rainbow fist punch from her wand, making contact with the monster and took it down. The monster disappeared as Marco was released from its grasp. Star then smiled towards Andrew afterwards.

"I accept your apology, Andrew," she grinned. "This would have been much easier if you had done that in the first place."

"Star," Marco cried as the princess of Mewni helped her friend up with the treasure hunter joining them afterwards.

"I'm glad to see that you're alright Marco," Star admitted before turning to Andrew, feeling she needed to apologize too. "And Andrew, I'm sorry that I gave you that black eye…_and_ for threatening to use that whispering spell on your Ruler Gemstone. I really did overreact back there didn't I?"

"Oh, ya think," Andrew rolled her eyes before smiling again. "But all in all, I forgive you too Star."

"Great, I'm happy that you made peace and restored your friendship," Marco expressed his gratefulness.

Andrew then looked at Marco since there was one question he wanted to be answered. "There's just one thing that I'd like to ask; what was this original plan that you had wanted to do anyway?"

"Oh, I was just going to lean precariously over the side of a building until you two made up," he told them. "But what actually ended up happening turned out to be even better."

"And for the better too," Star wiped her head. "You _can't_ fly Marco."

"Yeah," Andrew agreed. "You wouldn't be able to get to safety if you had done that."

"That was the purpose really."

"Well, in any case, I'm glad that you would have gone to extremes so Andrew and I could restore our friendship," Star acknowledged.

"Well, there's just _one_ last thing that needs to be settled," Marco spoke up.

"And what would that be," Star looked curious.

"This," Marco grabbed both Star and Andrew and then proceeded to smack their heads together, not too rough, but rough enough to get his point across. Both of them rubbed their temples upon feeling that impact.

"If you _two_ ever start to _fight_ like that again _at all_ during this adventure, _that _is what's going to happen, and I won't be so _gentle_ next time. Is _that_ clear," Marco warned both of them.

"Ouch, yes Marco," Andrew groaned. "You've gotten your point across."

"Yeah Marco, we won't fight anymore," Star spoke too. "We promise."

"Good," Marco sighed in relief. "Now may we press forward through this dimension so we can search for Ludo?"

"Good idea Marco," Star smiled. "I could do some traveling again."

"Same with me," Andrew smirked. "Let's get going."

The three of them continued through the dimension to track down Ludo as the team had been reunited and the friendship between Star and Andrew had been restored…

* * *

"Now just remember," Tom was giving a reminder, as Archibald decided to go up. "One ball equals 200, so if we win with one ball, we will have enough money for our client. Now Archibald-"

"Alright, I find two things vrong with claim," Buff Frog butted in. "One, I vant to play slots-"

"Archibald said he wanted to go before you." Tom interrupted.

"And two, vhy not raise stakes a little?"

"Because I don't want to lose whatever money we have left because of your horrid gambling," Tom sneered. "Now Archibald, just bet on one ball-"

"But if vee win $600 with three balls, client will think ve're extra lucky," Buff Frog intervened. "His opinion of us vill rise and you gave speech about how it's for mission, and how vee should do the best vee can for said client."

"I'm also the one who trying to remain cautious about what we do," Tom fought back. "You had lost what we started with, Archibald ended up winning some of what you lost, and if it wasn't for Archibald and me, and some of the loose change that was lying around, we wouldn't have come this far."

"Oh for goodness sake, Tom was right," Archibald whine. "This gambling business is tearing us apart!"

"Vat's vrong with having little fun?"

"What's wrong with being responsible?

"Archibald, use three balls!"

"No, only use one ball!"

"Ugh, CONFLICT!"

Tom and Buff Frog continued to bark at each other which left Archibald to make his own decision. To even things out, he took out two balls and betted them before entering the machine.

"I sure hope I win the right amount of money," Archibald hoped. "Because otherwise, they'll end up killing me…"

Archibald had spun around like the slots were, causing Tom and Buff Frog to cease their bickering just to watch the results.

The first slot showed an image of Marco.

The second slot showed another image of Marco.

And the third slot, by any amount of luck, was Marco.

"Yahoo, I just got $400 from triple Marcos," Archibald whooped as he got out of the machine with the money in his hands. He went over to Tom and Buff Frog to show him the loot he won. Tom was pleased and wanted to take the money and go. Buff Frog, on the other hand, had other plans in mind.

"There's no vay Archibald could've von that much money that easily…"

"Buff Frog, don't get any ideas," Tom warned. "We have the amount of money we need, so let's go and-"

"No, I vant to know vhy Archibald vins and I can't," Buff Frog protested.

"Because you clearly don't have the luck of the gargoyle," Archibald claimed as he pumped his fist into the air. Tom however was practically snarling at the frog monster.

"Buff Frog, get away from that machine-"

"I'm just looking at it," the frog monster snapped back as he inspected it from a short distance.

"Please, just step away before you accidentally-"

"AUGH!"

Too late; Buff Frog had inspected it a little too closely that the machine had mistaken this for wanting to go one round with it. Tom fell to his knees in anguish while Archibald silently prayed that Buff Frog wouldn't lose it all.

Of course, the stakes were doubled when Buff Frog brought two pinballs into the slot machine before being sucked in.

"Oh for goodness sake, this isn't going to end well," Tom groaned, knowing how this will turn out for them since Buff Frog was giving it a go. Tom and Archibald's eyes remained glued on the slot.

The first one was Ludo's face, which caused them to frown.

The second one was Ludo's face again, which really meant _trouble_ for them.

It was obvious what the third slot would _show,_ and the first two guesses _don't_ count…

* * *

"You know Pony Head and Jackie, this is a beautiful place," Daron admired the scenery around them as they were back on the red carpet again. "We had a lot of fun on the pinball tables, we earned some money, and I was able to get triple Stars from one of the slot machines."

"And earning $100 as a result, way to go girlfriend," Pony Head whooped.

"I think this place was pretty chill too," Jackie smiled. "I certainly had fun playing on the slot machines."

"I'll say," Daron exchanged a grin. "I heard you hollering and whooping when you got three Marcos on one of the slot machines and won $85, Jackie. Don't think I didn't notice_ that_."

"Uh yeah," Jackie rubbed the back of her head in flatter. "I know I'm a chill kind of girl, but sometimes I like to_ loosen_ up a bit and show that I can have fun. Marco has seen this side of me, especially that one time where I wanted him to feed me pizza nuggets."

"I get that," Daron winked. "So anyhow, I guess we can resume tracking down Ludo so we can find your medallion and seashell necklace."

"Sure, I feel freshen up and I'm ready to find our stuff right now," Pony Head declared.

"Yeah, I'm ready too." The skateboarder girl proclaimed.

"There's just one thing I just don't get," Daron was still puzzled about something. "The photo in the newspaper clearly shows Star taking your medallion and your seashell necklace, but when we found her, she didn't have them."

"Yeah, I don't think Star would do that to me," the floating unicorn head spoke. "She's my B.F.F, and I doubt that she'd want to do that."

"I have to agree, Star isn't the type of girl who would steal something from us and make off with it without our permission." Jackie pointed out.

"You know, I've come to the conclusion that this newspaper photo was a trick courtesy of Ludo," Daron deduced. "In other words, Ludo might have taken them and framed Star somehow by making us believe that she took them from you girls."

"Considering what Marco told me on the skyscraper, that isn't far from the truth, so I'm all for that theory," Jackie nodded before sounding confused again. "But what would Ludo want with my seashell necklace and Pony Head's medallion?"

"Whatever it may be, it can't be good news," Daron assumed. "And we have to find out what he's up to."

"Well, that leaves us with one solution," Pony Head proclaimed. "Let's go find him gurls!"

"I'm right behind you Pony Head."

"I'm ready too, dudette."

The three girls then headed through the casino dimension some more with hopes that they'll find Ludo soon…

* * *

"We lost _four hundred and thirty dollars_ man," Archibald was back on the carpet and was banging his head on a nearby pole in disappointment. "And we lost _it_ in one slot machine too…"

"How did _that _even happen," Tom groaned as he slammed his fist onto the ground. "How much was it worth anyway?"

"Apparently three Ludos are vorth negative two hundred dollars." Buff Frog grumbled as he was just as upset as his comrades.

"We might _never _know," Tom yelled. "We didn't lose all of our money since we still have $20 left, but how are we going to get back up to $200 now!? You just **HAD** to figure out _why_ you are _terrible_ at gambling, didn't you Buff Frog?!"

"Well, at least I know _I'm _an excellent gambler and could do this again sometime!" The gargoyle chirped.

"Archibald, by the time you can gamble again, casinos would have become obsolete."

"…NOOOOO!"

The team continued to slouch around in shame, disappointment, frustration, and guilt. Tom would have lashed out at Buff Frog with everything he had, but after the meditating he had just done, he realized that doing so wouldn't have gotten them their $200 back. The demon noticed Archibald grabbing one ball and went to the machine, but he only won $20. Still feeling upset, he played it again, but only won $10.

"It's like this thing has a mind of its own," Archibald howled.

Tom continued to watch Archibald give it a go, either winning some or losing some. And there was no way Buff Frog was going to try the slot machine again after what had happened. Once Archibald got out of the machine, he came with $15. Seeing that he wanted to settle this once and for all, Tom grabbed the three balls and headed for the machine.

"Hey Tom, what are you doing?" Archibald looked confused.

"I'm going to give this thing a try," he exclaimed.

"But Tom, you have three balls…"

"Oh vat differences vill it make," Buff Frog intervened. "Ve're stuck in situation because of me. I am terrible at gambling."

"But if Tom fails this, then our client will be disappointed, which means he'll fire us from this job and that means we'll have to go without a job for another 5 months! I don't think I can live with that kind of pressure!"

While Archibald continued his rant, Buff Frog just watched as Tom gave the slot machine a go with triple bets. While the roulette spun, the tension was high and the lights were suddenly blinding, Buff Frog had doubts that he could do this and that they had to suffer because he was a lousy gambler.

Eventually, the slot machine came to a stop with triple Stars on all three slots. Once that happened, Buff Frog and Archibald gawked and jaw-drop while the machine started shaking. In a matter of seconds, a mountain of money came out of the slot machine. However, Tom walked out with only $200 that they needed for their client. The demon let out a huff and felt relieved.

"Well, that takes care of that."

"Vat, Tom, you actually von that much money," Buff Frog asked.

"That's right."

"I wonder how you were able to do that when I got an average amount of money and Buff Frog kept losing our money." Archibald rubbed his chin.

"Seriously," Tom retorted. "You're talking to the same guy who beat Marco at ping pong 58 games in a row."

"Vell, that's not important," Buff Frog got to the point. "Vat's important is that you've von vat vee needed, and I shouldn't have doubted you."

"Yeah, I guess it's _no_ hard feelings," Tom smiled.

"Woo, and now we can continue working for our _client_!" Archibald did a fist bump in the air in excitement.

"Speaking of whom, I guess it's time we give our client a call and update him," Tom got out the talkie and updated the client. "Alright, we've gotten the $200 along with some extra funding that we had picked up along the way."

"Excellent, it turns out you boys were_ lucky _after all," the client applauded them.

"Vell, _almost_," Buff Frog rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Anyway, you can head to the next part of the casino dimension and wait for your next assignment from me." The client ordered before cutting the call.

"Well, I guess we can head out," Tom pocketed the talkie. "You two ready to go?"

"Ready when you are Tom," Archibald beamed.

"I'm ready too," Buff Frog smiled. "Let's get going."

And with that, the Demonstrix headed to the next part of the casino dimension to be given their next assignment…

* * *

By this point, Team Dread had gotten far within the casino dimension and had made some progress with how much they traveled. Janna though was upset that she didn't get to gamble as much as she hoped.

"I'm _wicked _disappointed," Janna expressed her disappointment. "I had wanted to gamble so much only to bypass it all…"

"It's mainly because Nebula hates the pinball tables," Upsilon inclined.

"I don't _hate _them," Nebula barked. "I just find them to be annoying, and the lights are too flashy."

"And since I'm a robot, it is highly impossible to tell if I'm being sarcastic."

"Ugh," Nebula grunted and turned to face Janna. "What do you expect from us, Janna? Ever since we started, we've been dealing with monsters here and there."

"I know," Janna sighed. "But I really had wanted to gamble a bit. As a matter of fact, all I had gotten from one of the slot machines was $20."

"We still got some more ground to cover in this dimension," Nebula assured. "And if we're lucky, you might be able to gamble just a little."

"You seriously mean that?" Janna looked perplexed.

"Only until we catch sight of Ludo, if we're in the mood for it."

"Affirmative," Upsilon suddenly agreed.

"If you two say so," Janna started to walk off. "I just hope you don't regret it when I do get to try out some more slot machines in the further part of the dimension."

"Maybe, maybe not," the dark girl shrugged her shoulders. "It all depends on how things go from here."

"Yeah, you're right Nebula," Janna smirked as she walked off with Upsilon and Nebula trailing behind her.

"What exactly is it that you're trying to do Nebula," the robot asked.

"I'm not really sure…" Nebula trailed as her sight never left the Filipino for a second. "But I guess she may not be as bad as she seems to be, is she?"

"Negative, she just wants to enjoy herself if my calculations are corrected," Upsilon processed. "We've dealt with Ludo's monsters everywhere as you have pointed out, and she just wants to have a breather."

"Yeah, that's true," Nebula seemed to understand what he was saying. It was then something else popped into her mind.

"You know, it's likely that Janna and I might have something in common after all," Nebula mused as she followed her team to the next part of the casino dimension. "Now if only I could remember it for myself. What was it that we _had_ in common…?"

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 7!**

**YEAH, I KINDA HAD FUN WITH WRITING THIS CHAPTER, THANKS TO THE FACT THAT IT'S PART ONE OF THE CASINO CHAPTERS! I CERTAINLY DO HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER TOO!**

**I THINK I DID A GREAT JOB WITH HANDLING TEAM STAR WITH MARCO BEING THE VOICE OF REASON AND TRYING TO GET STAR AND ANDREW TO MAKE PEACE AND RESTORE THEIR FRIENDSHIP THAT WAS RUINED OVER SOMETHING SO TRIVIAL! THAT WAS INTENTIONAL SO I COULD SHOW THAT STAR CAN BE CHILDISH AND IMMATURE AT TIME, AND COMBINED WITH ANDREW'S HOTHEADED ATTITUDE, SOMETHING IS BOUND TO GO WRONG, SO MARCO HAD TO FIGURE THIS OUT!**

**SO ASIDE FROM THAT, YOU CAN REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE AND WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER COMES UP!**


	9. Casino Dimension II

**CHAPTER 8-CASINO DIMENSION II:**

* * *

"See guys, this looks pretty fun doesn't it," Janna exclaimed with a grin. Team Dread was at the next part of the casino dimension. There were more blue lights here, and plenty of pinball tables to slide down. There were plenty of slot machines here too, but in addition to that, some of the tables have bingo on them. The place looked pretty exciting too as Upsilon was scanning the area to locate Ludo, while Nebula was observing the place for herself, with that usually frown she bears.

"Alright, I'll admit; this place looks like a bit of an improvement," Nebula professed smoothly. "But remember, we need to focus on finding Ludo."

"I know, but what's the rush," Janna motioned her attention to all the fun casino games they could play. "There's plenty of gambling games that we could take part in, and it seems like a thrilling experience."

"Ha, unlike you, I don't have the time to enjoy the thrills of gambling, and I also have reasons for wanting to get through here," Nebula protested. "For starters, I still have no memory, Ludo is out there and another team could beat us to him, this light looks like it could give me seizures, and-"

"Huh, I can think of a couple of good reasons why you should hurry along here too," Janna cocked.

"Really," Nebula then looked at the Filipino with an expression that demanded an answer. "Name one reason."

"Well," Janna smiled nervously as she had sweat dripping down her forehead. "Before you were trapped in that capsule, I was-"

"Ludo's presence has been detected in the northwestern direction," Upsilon interrupted Janna discussion with Nebula as they both stared at the robot. Nebula looked apathetic while Janna looked like she had just eaten something sour. "We must apprehend that diminutive Avarian at the time of the earliest convenience! We must advance post haste!"

As Upsilon stormed off in the direction he pointed out, Nebula and Janna just stared at their robot companion walking off before following after him. It was then Janna was confused by what he said and asked Nebula.

"Wait, what did Upsilon just say?"

"I believe he just referred to Ludo as 'short'."

The three of them headed off to get to Ludo first…

* * *

The Demonstrix members were in the same area that Team Dread was in but at a different point. They were given their next task from their client.

"Here is your next mission," the client proceeded on telling them. "Ludo's hideout is located in the next block ahead of you. But you will need to collect chips in order to gain access to it."

"Chips," Archibald looked bemused. "You mean like Cornitos corn chips?"

"Not those kinda chips silly," Buff Frog shook his head.

"Our client is referring to bingo chips," Tom added in.

"Exactly, although the chips you'll be collecting will be different from the bingo chips," the client added. "Now you must collect 10 casino chips."

"We'll get on it," Tom put away the talkie and faced his teammates. "Now for this mission, we'll have to be on the lookout on all the tables since they are scattered all over the place."

"There's something I just don't get," the gargoyle wondered. "What does he mean when he says block?"

"I dunno," Buff Frog was unsure "But I'm guessing it's somevhere in the center of this casino dimension."

"Yeah, and I guess we are looking for casino chips because this is a casino dimension," Tom mused.

"In any case, we better get moving right away," the gargoyle announced. "Since we are detective agents, we should be able to spot them right away."

The frog monster and demon prince exchanged a look before the three of them headed off to find those 10 casino chips…

* * *

Team Star didn't _need_ an introduction since they were already sliding down one of the tables to the next part of the casino dimension. Being the pinballs, the three of them had bounced off bumpers and pads just to go downward. The three of them were having fun, mostly Star, but it should be expected from the princess of Mewni. Marco was more ecstatic that Star and Andrew weren't at each other's throats anymore for trivial reasons while Andrew was just satisfied that Star wasn't bugging him that much.

"You know, as interesting as this place is," Andrew started. "I must say, I prefer being around nature than being in big city dimensions and casino dimensions like this one since you can probably see them from space if possible."

"Why, because they don't have any gold statues of _me_ that you could see from space," Star quipped in a playful manner.

"Don't start _anything_ Star," Marco warned her, but it was more in a pleading tone than an actual warning tone.

"Relax Marco, I'm only kidding," Star brushed off. "I'm pretty sure that Andrew has a sense of humor somewhere beyond that green gemstone of his."

"I_ do _have a sense of humor," Andrew insisted, his frown slowly turning into a smirk. "But it's the kind of humor that you wouldn't like."

"Come on, try me," Star dared as they were back on solid ground.

A few seconds later, Andrew went and bopped Star right on the head.

"See, wasn't that funny," Andrew chuckled as Star was rubbing her head. Despite this, her smile _never_ vanished.

"Okay, that was worth a laugh," said Star. "But if you think _that_ makes you chuckle, then wait until you get a whip of _this_."

Star took out her wand and hit him on the head with it before sprinkling his hat with sparkles and rainbows that came from the wand.

"See, now how does that feel?" Star had a look of pride in her eyes and a smirk on her mouth.

"Oh yeah," Andrew stood back up and dusted his hat off. "Just wait til you get-"

"I've got a joke too," Marco interrupted before they could start up again. However, a smirk also _crossed_ his lips. "It's a knock-knock joke, and the punch-line is a _real __**killer**_…"

Star and Andrew exchanged looks before backing away from each other.

"Uh, I'm kind of tired of playing jokes right now," Andrew started, putting back on his hat.

"Yeah, me too," Star agreed. "Let's go explore the place! Maybe if we're _lucky, _we could gamble together!"

"Sure, if we are able to," Andrew persevered. "Let's get going."

"Well that's taken care of," Marco giggled before following his teammates through the area to see if they could gamble together this time…

* * *

Team Sparkle had arrived in the same part of the casino dimension as the other teams, but they were thinking about that newspaper. Daron, in particular, was thinking about why Ludo would take the medallion and seashell necklace, and why frame Star for it. Not just that, but she also had to wonder what Ludo had a use for Pony Head's medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace. She could guess that since the medallion belongs to Pony Head, it's probably got some magical power stored into it, and that might be something that Ludo is after. So that solves that question.

But then there's Jackie's seashell necklace. What use did he have for that? For all she knew, the seashell necklace seemed like just an ordinary necklace, and since Jackie was a human, what's the point of taking her necklace?

_I can understand why he wants Pony Head's medallion since it possibly has some magic stored in it, but why would he take Jackie's seashell necklace when it seems to be just an ordinary necklace with an orange seashell necklace. _Daron thought. _Perhaps there are some deeper secrets about Jackie than I already know. All the years I've known her, she was just a typical popular cool girl who loves sea life and skateboarding, who is also one of the nicest girls I've ever met. There may possibly be some secrets about Jackie that I don't know about…_

Despite this, she kept a lid on it for now when they ran into some Craw monsters. They noticed that they were wearing fancy gambling outfits, but that just made them goofier.

"Whoa, look at those chumps," Pony Head sassed. "What the heck are they wearing?"

"They seem to be wearing some gambling outfits," Daron tilted her head. "If anything, it just makes them goofier."

"I wonder why Ludo wanted them to wear those silly costumes," Jackie had to ponder.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to make the first strike," Daron got out her fake wand and charged at them.

She bonked them on the head with the wand which caused them to fall over. Pony Head stepped in by firing away her magic beams from her horn before Jackie made the final strike by karate chopping them down.

"You know guys, we are definitely getting good with this," Daron was confident.

"Yah gurl," Pony Head huffed. "Ludo's monsters just keep on coming, and we just keep on taking them down."

"That is true dudettes," Jackie smiled. "We have faced plenty of monsters since we started, and we've gotten quite good with this."

"The only thing we got to do is to keep our guard up," Daron warned them. "There's no telling what else Ludo has up his sleeve that he could unleash on us."

"Tell me about it," Pony Head agreed. "I mean these monsters aren't even a challenge. Besides, the last thing he unleashed on us was that dumb Eagle Tank which we took care of easily, which is something I wasn't expecting."

"I know, but what of the possibility that Ludo could summon a bigger monster against us?"

"Come again," Daron and Pony Head looked at Jackie as she said that.

"I mean think about it: Star has faced Ludo many times in the past along with Marco. Ludo may have always used the same monsters that he always uses, but something tells me that the tables might be turned. Sure, we've handled these monsters a-okay like it's no sweat, but we're not the only ones who are after Ludo. There's Star, Marco, and Andrew, and then there are possibly some other teams who are after him too. When he feels potentially _outnumbered,_ he really could summon a dangerous looking colossal monster again _us_."

Daron and Pony Head just stared at the skateboarder girl once she finished that. They felt that she may have a point and that they should be ready for anything. They just stood there for a couple of minutes to take that in…

* * *

"I can't believe it," Janna grunted as she followed her teammates. "Here I am in a casino dimension where I could be gambling like no tomorrow right now, but I can't since an amnesiac Nebula and a killer robot have other plans in mind…"

Team Dread was walking under an arch as Upsilon took the lead since he had his coordinates set on Ludo, and Nebula was lost in thought as usual which caused neither of them to respond to what Janna just said.

"I guess it doesn't matter. Once we leave this dimension, there will be nothing to be upset about," Janna complained before an idea struck her. And it was a good one too, based on the smirk on her face. "Or at the first chance that I can cease, I'll just go on ahead and gamble anyway. I can still have fun like the troublemaking rogue that I am."

And just as if it was her lucky day, the dreadful team fell onto another pinball table, which got Nebula really up.

"Oh for goodness sake," Nebula yelled. "I thought we were done with these stupid pinball tables."

"Well too bad, because this is the first of many to get by this area," Janna smirked and seized the opportunity. "In any case, I'm going to roll on ahead and gamble away in some of these slot machines, so if you two don't mind, I'll be heading off."

Before Nebula or Upsilon could get a say in it, Janna already rolled on ahead to try out the slot machines and was now gambling her mischievous heart out.

_**"****JANNA!"**_ Nebula bellowed in frustration, seeing that Janna was starting to troll with them.

"My sensors cannot comprehend the motive or explanation as to the desires of wanting to take part in gambling," Upsilon deadpanned. "According to the data, gambling causes addictions, and addictions can cause distractions and distractions causes…"

"Delays, I know already," Nebula barked. "Do me a favor Upsilon and stick with your robot lingo."

"I'd be willing to acquiesce to your rude claim and demand, comrade Nebula."

"Yeah, whatever. In any case, I guess we better get Janna and stop her from this gambling that she's into," Nebula spat. "Man, Janna is one _weird_ girl."

"Likewise," the robot said simply before they went down the table to get Janna before this gambling gets out of control so they can find Ludo…

* * *

"Now, the first chip must be here somevhere," Buff Frog was surveying the area. The Demonstrix members weren't having any luck with finding the first casino chip that they needed to find. They looked throughout the first part, but they couldn't find it. Archibald was gazing at the lights while fiddling with something. Buff Frog took notice of this and looked curious.

"Hey," he looked in the gargoyles direction. "Vat are ya fiddling with Archibald?"

"Uh, well…you see…"

Tom knew that he was hiding something so he stormed right over and snatched what was in his hand. When he saw it for himself, he glared at him.

"Were you going to tell us that you found the first casino chip?"

"If I did, you guys would have taken it away from me because you don't trust me with it." The gargoyle wailed.

"It has nothing to do with trust," Buff Frog huffed. "Ya should have told us first."

"Well anyway, by the looks of it," Tom examined the first casino chip. "This seems to be a VIP chip."

Then to the gargoyle complete surprise, the demon tossed the first chip back to him which _almost _made him faint.

"Well anyway, we got one casino chip down," Archibald smiled.

"But vee have 9 more chips to go," the frog monster reminded him. "Let's go."

The three of them pressed onward so they could find the remaining nine casino chips…

* * *

"I'm willing to guess that these big balloons exist in other dimensions too," Marco had said as Team Star had used a big balloon to go up the current of a fan. "And they're conveniently placed wherever big fans are running."

"It's still pretty fun to do that again," Star cheered.

"Well don't get too excited," Andrew saw something ahead. "We've got some company."

Andrew pointed to a nearby bat monster that Star noticed. The Mewni princess was clearly oblivious to the fact that it was carrying a searchlight that was being waved back in fourth.

"Alright, another monster to take down; I'll take care of this," she was about to rush and attack but Andrew grabbed her and pulled her back down. "Ouch, what was that for Andrew?"

"To save your hind, now look at what it's carrying," Andrew pointed. "It's carrying a searchlight, and if that searchlight detects us, then that monster will call in other monsters to join it."

"In other words Star, that monster will call in reinforcements to ambush us," Marco elaborated.

"Pffft, yeah right," Star didn't see this as a threat. "I'm not worried at all. It's all in the bag, watch this: Rainbow Blast!"

She fired a rainbow blast at the bat monster before it knew what hit it. The bat shrieked and fell to the ground where it disappeared afterwards before calling in backup.

Star then past the area and got a look at the beautiful night sky. Even with all the flashing lights, it looked beautiful. With a glance to her teammates, she motioned them to follow as she bolted off.

"You know, I have to wonder how she's able to brush danger aside without taking it seriously," Andrew questioned.

"Being serious was never her thing. She just goes without thinking and rushes into the face of danger," Marco exclaimed. "She finds being serious to be lame; in fact, she's only serious when someone she cares about has been kidnapped."

"I know, and she claims that I'm _too_ serious all the time."

"Which is why both of you need each other since you balance each other out," the karate master told him. "It's like yin and yang; you need Star's irresponsibility and desires for fun to keep you motivated, and she needs your seriousness and desires to get things done to keep her motivated."

"I guess it makes sense when you put it that way."

"Of course it makes sense."

The both of them caught up to Star as they went through the lively area…

* * *

"Okay, as Jackie just pointed out, there _is_ the possibility that we could run into a dangerous monster," Daron cleared her throat. "And it's evidently important that we stay on guard since there's probably more than one team after Ludo."

"Yeah, I get ya drift." The floating unicorn head agreed.

They kept on going through the area when they encountered a big balloon in front of a running fan.

"Hey gurls, check it out," Pony Head smirked. "We found ourselves another balloon to catch a ride on."

"Which means we have to use it to go up that fan," Daron insisted.

"In that case, let's do this," said Jackie.

Team Sparkle grabbed a hold of the balloon and went up from the current of the fan. After relishing the enjoyment of that activity, they decided to go down the path where they ended up on the edge of another pinball table. With one shatter, Pony Head broke the glass down.

"You know dudettes," Jackie confessed as they peered over the edge. "With a slide that steep, it could be the perfect opportunity to go skateboarding down and perform some really cool tricks."

"I hear you, Jackie," Daron nodded as the tan skinned girl smirked. "It's too bad that we turn into pinballs once we end up on this table."

"Not that that's a bad thing, since doing being a pinball is pretty awesome," without thinking, Pony Head already jumped down onto the table and rolled down the slope.

"PONY HEAD," Daron and Jackie cried out as they saw her barreling down the slope already. The two human girls exchanged a glance before nodding.

"Let's go and catch up with her Jackie," Daron issued.

"I'm totally ahead of you Daron," Jackie accepted.

The two of them jumped down onto the table and turned into pinballs where they rolled down to catch up to Pony Head…

* * *

"Alright, that was fun," Janna whooped as she was being dragged by Nebula. "I've won $80 from those slot machines and I'm feeling great!"

"Well funs over in case you didn't know," Nebula huffed as she was in the mood for action right about now. Janna took notice of this persistence and scoffed.

"And yet you're the one who's telling me to remain focused," she retorted. "What about you Nebula?"

"Sorry, but the lack of stimulation is making me _dazed_." Nebula emotionlessly said.

"Stimulation," Janna gawked before narrowing her eyes. "Nebula, you're beginning to sound like Upsilon."

"And that's a bad thing because…" Upsilon started as he stepped in between them.

"Now you listen here," Janna scolded. "There are times where I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall as you may know…"

"Uh, Janna," the dark girl started.

"What is it no-AAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The nightmare loving girl fell off the edge and was barreling down the table. Nebula slammed into Upsilon before jumping down after her with the robot following after them.

Janna wouldn't have had a problem if there was a slot machine or two around here, but this table didn't have any. Thankfully, Nebula was catching up fast thanks to her flying. Upsilon, on the other hand, got himself stuck thanks to his bulky looking body, but he was making his way down after them, at a slower pace.

"Nebula," Janna said. "I don't know about this, especially since there aren't any slot machines on this table."

"Well, you should have thought of that before falling onto the table," Nebula growled.

"Just let me know if this slide has an end!"

Nebula then gazed ahead of her to look for an end. Unfortunately, she quickly discovered a flaw in that plan.

"Uh…Janna?"

"What is it?"

"I don't think there's an end to _this_ slide."

* * *

Buff Frog had grabbed a hold of the giant balloon that was in front of a running fan and ordered Tom and Archibald to grab onto him. Once they did, they ascended up the chute with the current from the fan lifting them upward.

Once they were out of the chute, they found the second casino chip they were looking for, which Buff Frog grabbed before letting go of the balloon. Now they had to search for the remaining 8 chips, which was easier said than done.

"You know, this place was meant to be fun," Buff Frog said glumly. "But vee have to find casino chips that some _klutz _dropped."

"Yeah I know the feeling," Tom agreed. "But it's still a job we got to do, and it must be done."

"That's true," the frog monster understood what he was getting at.

Both of them caught up with a scatting gargoyle before they pressed forward. There were no casino chips in sight. However, there was something else that they had to take care of.

"We got more monsters that need to be taken care of," Tom pointed to the circle of Craw monsters that had to be dealt with.

"Hmmm, I vonder vhere they got goofy outfits?"

"Beats me, it makes them look ridiculous."

"It doesn't matter what they're wearing Buff Frog and Archibald, they have to be taken care of."

"I'm vay ahead of ya Tom."

The frog monster was the first to jump in as he punched the first Craw monster's lights out before using his tongue to wrap around its body and swing it like a wrecking ball into the other monsters before the tongue released the knocked out Craw. Buff Frog then got out his chewing prum and in a matter of seconds, bubbles started coming out of his mouth and got the Craw monsters stuck together on the floor.

"Alright Buff Frog, allow me to take over," Tom stepped in and approached the stuck monsters. Glowing red eyes, he summoned some flames from under the ground which engulfed them in the fire. Once that was cleared out, the demon prince proceeded to hurl several fireballs at them and leaving behind more scorch marks on their bodies.

"Awesome, now I can finish this," Archibald flew up and hovered over the monsters before spitting several spits of green acid at them, which caused them to screech. In a matter of seconds, the monsters were defeated and disappeared without a trace.

"Alright, vay to go, comrades," Buff Frog then noticed two things that were left behind from those monsters. He picked them up and figured out that they were the third and fourth casino chips that they needed. "I've found third and fourth casino chips right here."

"Good, now let's find the remaining 6." Tom hurried along.

"Let's hope that this won't take too long," Archibald flew after Tom, leaving Buff Frog to trudge after them as they had to find the last 6 casino chips…

* * *

Team Star had continued to race down several of the pinball slides and slopes, earning some money whenever they entered a slot machine and succeeded. It wasn't long before they ended up at another pinball table, which Star looked forward to sliding on.

"This is going to be fun," she smirked. "Come on you two, this will be exciting!"

Marco and Andrew only exchanged looks before they jumped onto the table and joined Star on the pinball ride. But there was something different about this table. On it was several bingo chips scattered around along with a bingo chart that shows if you have gotten a bingo or not. This went unnoticed by Team Star for now, until Andrew came across something he had never seen before, and touched it.

"AHH," Andrew panicked at what he just touched. "What the heck just hit _me!_?"

"Jeez Andrew, what do you have against bingo chips," Star quirked. "Did you lose at some serious bingo game in the past?"

"Bingo what…?" Andrew clearly never heard of bingo before.

"Oh Andrew, you've never heard of bingo before," Marco sounded bewildered when Andrew made that remark.

"Yeah Andrew, I've played bingo several times when Marco explained it to me after finding a bingo game in the store," Star chirped. "It's a lot of fun, and you can learn how to play too."

"It might be a good idea to learn about it Andrew since there is plenty of bingo chips on this table," Marco joined in.

"Really," Andrew was curious. "Are you sure that I can learn this?"

"Of course I'm sure," Marco smiled.

"And besides, it looks like the fun is just about to begin," Star smirked as the three of them went down the table while Star and Marco explained to Andrew the basics and fundamentals of bingo…

* * *

"PONY HEAD!"

It was clear that Pony Head had gone on ahead of her partners after jumping down the pinball slide. It was when she heard Daron and Jackie call out her names that she remembered about them. It was clear that they were worried and upset that she did what she did.

"There you are Pony Head," Daron caught up to her. "Why did you do that?"

"Yeah, we were worried about you and thought that you were in danger," Jackie added. "What's up?"

Pony Head noticed how concerned they were for her and that they were upset by that stunt she pulled.

"Oh, uh gurls…I'm sorry for flying off like that," she apologized. "I guess I keep forgetting that you two can't fly. I'm just so use to being with those that can fly alongside me and I have to break from that norm."

"The norm," Daron raised an eyebrow. "Pony Head, what's that suppose to mean?"

"Yeah, what are you talking about dudette?" Jackie was equally curious.

Pony Head knew this moment would come and it had to come out eventually, especially since they are a team. As such, she took a deep breath and revealed.

"What I mean by the norm is that I have 12 younger sisters back home where I live, and they can all fly just like me," Pony Head exposed. "The other problem I have is that my sisters and I can get at each others' throats at times, and it can be quite hectic. I mean yeah, I hang out with B-Fly all the time before she started flying with her wings, but that's because we both live on Mewni. You two on the other hand, as awesome as you are, aren't from Mewni and you aren't able to fly. It really does seem hard to break this kind of habit and to think about myself then about you gurls, so that's why I had flown off like that."

Daron and Jackie took a moment to let that sink in as they learned something about Pony Head. Perhaps the reason she is abnormally selfish is because of what she puts up with all the time. There's also the possibility that she was spoiled when she was younger; one of the many drawbacks of being the daughter to King Pony Head.

Once they found their voices, Daron was the first to speak.

"Wow Pony Head, I had no idea about that," Daron acceded. "I can see now why you fly off ahead of us since your use to being with others that can fly just like you can."

"Yeah Pony Head, we're sorry about that," Jackie confirmed. "We understand how you feel, but try to remember dudette that Daron and I are still _only _human."

"She's right," Daron agreed. "Because we're human, we can't fly and we hope you can understand that."

Pony Head _did_ understand that. And she did feel guilty for that. They had offered to help her locate her medallion and for what: to leave them behind while she flies off like that? Breaking the habit was going to be tough, but she will need to have the perfect solution to handle this.

"Yeah gurls, I understand your both _human_," Pony Head then made a promise. "I'll tell you what, the next time we end up at that point, I'll have the both of you hang on to me while I fly us upward. Is that alright?"

"Yes, it is," Daron smiled. "I'm glad that you could understand."

"Now with that said, what do you say we continue through this place," Jackie suggested.

"Sure thing Jackie," Pony Head smiled. "And I think we're coming towards another pinball table!"

Daron and Jackie saw the pinball table too as this meant another slide down.

"Oh look, it is another pinball table," Daron quirked as they approached it.

"Looks like another killer ride for us," Jackie smirked.

"Well, you gurls know what this means," Pony Head motioned. "Grab onto me and I'll descend us onto the table and we'll be in for a ride."

Daron and Jackie nodded as they grabbed a hold of Pony Head. She flew them onto the pinball table where they landed and then rolled down the steep slide as pinball, letting out collective cheers along the way…

* * *

"Okay, so remember what you said when you told me you didn't see an end," Janna retorted. "Well I've found out that by that you meant it was a dead end!"

"Relax Janna; I'm sure it should be fine." Nebula tried to assure her.

And this couldn't have happened sooner because once they reached the end of the slide it came to an abrupt stop as both of them went careening off the edge. Nebula used her wings to fly down and keep herself from falling, because catching Janna moments later.

"Hey, where is Upsilon?" Janna questioned when Nebula dropped her on her butt.

"Your welcome," Nebula snorted.

As Janna picked herself off the ground, Upsilon was continuing to slowly inch down the slide to which Nebula gave a disapproving look. Upsilon took sense of this and his eyes started to glow.

"My sensors must have picked up that expression of distaste Nebula," Upsilon exclaimed. "It is not my fault that this slide has a massive amount of friction."

"Well you caused the friction you know," Nebula muttered.

Nebula then had to tug Upsilon out until he was wedged free. Once that happened, both the robot and the girl started to stumble on over and fall to a heap. Janna helped them both up and pointed towards the path.

"What are you two lying around for," she shook her head. "Well so much for being in a rush, huh?"

Nebula held that growl in while Upsilon started explaining how it was the slide's fault for the delay. Despite this, they pressed forward. They had to use a big balloon to get through the current of the big fan running behind it. Then once they were brought up by the balloon, they let go and continued on through the casino dimension…

* * *

"…and so all you have to do Andrew is to get certain bingo chips so once you get rid of an entire row of numbers shown on the bingo chart above, you'll get a bingo and you'll win some money from doing so," Marco finished explaining to the treasure hunter as Star picked up bingo chip number six.

"Okay, so I think I follow you Marco," Andrew started getting it. "I think I understand how to play it."

"Great, cause we need chip number nine to win!" Star called out as they continued to roll down to get bingo.

All three of them got off of a ramp where bingo chip number 7 was located. Star was flying with Marco in her hands while Andrew was gliding. Andrew was starting to get the gist of the game, but Star's extremities put her a little bit on edge.

"Alright, here it comes guys," Star announced as she steered her partners in the right direction. She was the first to get to it but she missed by a marginal. Marco jumped and tried to grab it, but missed the attempt and Andrew also went for it as well. Unfortunately, _none_ of them were able to grab it as they ended up on the bingo table again.

"Drat, sorry about that Star," Marco apologized.

"Aw it hardly meant anything to us anything," Star dismissed. "We just need the last chip to win."

"You mean the purple bingo chip labeled 9 over there," the treasure hunter asked absentmindedly, as Star was heading in the direction Andrew was pointing in. Sure enough, on the path, was the bingo chip he was referring to. Star had already worked herself into a frenzy trying to edge over it and Marco was too far off to claim it, so Andrew had to work his way over to the out-of-the-way path before he missed the opportunity.

The palm of his hand managed to brush against the bingo chip, but it was enough to claim it as his and secure a bingo as a result.

"BINGO," both Star and Marco cheered as money started raining on top of them. Andrew smiled a little as he pumped his fist in the air.

"Yeah, bingo!"

"Way to go Andrew," Star exclaimed as she flashed him a thumbs up while Marco flashed a grin in Andrew's direction. And for once, Andrew returned the favor to Star…

* * *

"Hey guys, I don't think we can go any further without jumping onto another pinball slide," Janna pointed to the pinball table near the edge to prove her point. They were unaware that that pinball table also had bingo on it. Nebula didn't seem upset for once as she grabbed Janna and Upsilon and jumped down there.

"Not a problem, let's get a move on."

And then they slid down the slide as they had to steer across some of the slopes. Upsilon ended up hitting a chip that said '1' on it which got Nebula confused.

"Hey, what was that that Upsilon just hit?"

"Oh, that was a bingo chip," Janna remarked casually. "It's to play bingo with, what else?"

"What the heck is bingo?" Nebula asked.

Janna rolled her eyes as she was about to retort the answer, but Upsilon beat her to it.

"Information on the subject called bingo retrieved. The definition: Bingo is a game in which players mark off numbers on cards as the numbers are drawn randomly by a caller, the winner being the first person to mark off five numbers in a row or another required pattern."

"That's right and in this case, you as the pinball has to touch the chips in order to get a line of bingo shown on the bingo cards hovering over us," Janna motioned her attention. "Get a bingo and you could earn some money. It'll be like _gambling_."

As Janna smirked, Nebula wrapped her head around this as he saw the missing numbers on the bingo charts above her. Raising an eyebrow, this got her perplex and curious as she rolled down the slide.

"The strangest activities that humans come up with," Nebula huffed.

"Well it might be strange, but it'll going to be wicked cool," Janna snickered. "Let's play."

Seeing that they had no say in it and that she wouldn't take no for an answer, Nebula and Upsilon had to go along with the game as they went down the slope…

* * *

"Hey, check it out dudettes," Jackie pointed. "The next pinball table we've landed on has bingo chips that we can collect!"

"Uh, what's bingo if I may ask?" Pony Head really didn't know what that was.

"What," Daron smirked and joked. "Have you been spending time with Andrew on his island or something?"

That question was ignored as Jackie decided to explain it.

"The way you play bingo is that you have to collect the chips on the table and find the right numbers based on the chart shown above us," the skateboarder girl pointed. "When you get a line using the chips, you'll get a bingo. Are you ready for this Pony Head?"

"I guess so," Pony Head was skeptical before feeling energetic. "Well if we're going to have fun with it, I'm all gamed for bingo."

"I'll show you a demonstration." Jackie ended up flinging herself into a yellow bingo chip and touched it. Pony Head looked up to the charts and saw that the number one on all of them had disappeared.

"Don't you get it Pony Head," Daron asked.

"Of course I get it, it sounds easy," Pony Head cheered. "Jackie, how did you know how to play bingo?"

"Oh uh, when I was in 4th grade, I use to play bingo all the time," Jackie admitted. "It was really fun. I believe Marco participated in it too."

"Yeah Pony Head," Daron agreed. "Bingo is an Earth game that we are both acquainted with and you can try it out too."

Pony Head nodded and tried it out for herself. She saw a bingo chip that had the number '4' written on it as she touched it and picked it up.

"Alright, that's a bingo right?" Pony Head queried.

"Not quite Pony Head," Daron exclaimed. "But you made a step in the right direction."

"Yeah dudette," Jackie winked. "Let's try getting some more bingo chips."

"Let's get this game on then!"

After Pony Head shouted that, the three girls participated in the game of bingo as well…

* * *

So the members of Team Star, Team Dread and Team Sparkle were all on the same huge bingo table, oblivious to the other teams outside of their own. Andrew claimed another 5, Jackie hit the 6, Pony Head managed to claim the 7 and Janna and Nebula tag teamed to acquire bingo chip 8.

"Heh, this isn't too bad," Star chuckled as she hit the 9th bingo chip on the table. All of the different bingo charts that the three teams saw started flashing and everyone received different bingos.

"YAHOO! WE GOT OUR BINGO!" Daron cheered.

"Yeah gurl, this is AWESOME!" Pony Head whooped too.

"It's more than awesome Pony Head, THIS IS _**RADICAL!"**_ Jackie ended up whooping as they were surrounded by money.

Nearby, the members of Team Dread got twice the amount of money than Team Sparkle did.

"Can you believe it? We actually got ourselves a bingo and won some money," Janna was excited. "WE ARE WINNERS DUDES!"

"It's interesting to see how such an adequate human game could turn the mind into something so mind-blowing."

"Oh don't be such a wet blanket about it Upsilon," Janna assured. "We _rock_ at this game!"

Nebula didn't say anything, but by the grin on her face, it was clear that she didn't hate this game.

And then there was Team Star, where Star and her partners were relishing their own win as they looked at all the money they won.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, WE ACTUALLY WON THIS MUCH MONEY!" Marco was pretty ecstatic and excited.

"You said it, Marco," Star was in an excellent mood too. "WE _**ROCK**_ AT THIS GAME!"

"I'll have to admit that," Andrew smiled. "It's a shame that we can't take _all _this money back with us."

"Oh just grab what you can Andrew," Star tossed some money in his direction. "This is just a sign that things are finally looking up for us!"

"Yeah, I know," Andrew smirked. For the first time in quite a while, he had to admit that Star was right.

It didn't take long before all 9 heroes cheered in unison…

* * *

As for the Demonstrix, they had noticed the commotion going on above them when they won the money they earned from bingo. Archibald looked envious as he wanted to play too, Tom kept his eyes closed, and Buff Frog frowned as he examined the other teams above him. He saw the trio of girls he didn't recognize relishing their winnings, the dreadful team that they faced back on the skyscraper in the city dimension, and then there was Star and her friends, acting like they were living life to the fullest.

The Demonstrix saw how all the other teams were enjoying some time off, but they weren't aware of their own problems. At the same time, the Demonstrix had assumed that those other teams were just here for fun, unaware that those other teams had problems that also needed resolving. To put it simply, they had no clue of the sort.

"Huh, _going after Ludo_ my foot," Buff Frog grumbled as he watched Janna relishing the money she earned with her teammates.

"Maybe Ludo really is around here somewhere and the other teams got distracted by playing bingo," Archibald gave a likely reason.

"I also doubt that they're here for fun, but…"

"But vat, Tom," Buff Frog asked as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot. The demon prince thought about responding, but he couldn't come up with an appropriate answer for this predicament. As such, he decided to go with a simple answer.

"…well, they really could be here for fun after all."

"How come we can't have fun like them?" Archibald was envious about what they were doing.

"Vee have jobs. This is first job vee have accepted in months. We can't go on crusader mission because vee feel like it. That floozy and her band of rogues are probably bunch of liars, and we know Star is probably out and about to have fun, and I don't know girly team with two human girls and floating unicorn head, but I'm pretty sure their intentions aren't important either!" Buff Frog had bellowed.

"Try to calm down Buff Frog," Tom was the one to have reassured him. "So what if there are 3 other teams out there too? It doesn't matter if we're alone on this adventure and if they have different reasons for doing what they're doing. As long as we continue to do what we're supposed to do, everything should be okay."

"I guess you're right Tom," Buff Frog looked at the ground sheepishly. "It's just that…vell, let's assume that they did hear about threat Ludo's been posing and are going after him, while we're doing vat vee can as well."

Tom started to understand what he was saying. "Go on Buff Frog."

"Vell, by end of day, Star and her comrades Marco and Andrew, along with two other teams, will get all the glory, and vhere vill vee be?"

"Probably in the slumps of unpopularity," Archibald slumped. "I know how it feels to be the underdog."

"Yeah, I'm used to it too," Tom nodded. "Being a demon isn't all fun and games, especially when there are people who fear you and are terrified of you."

"Easy for you to say," Buff Frog grunted. "You at least have Mewman genes in addition to demon genes, while Archibald and I are _pure_ monsters, and vee vould like to be thanked too."

"I know that I'm part Mewman in addition to demon," Tom shrugged. "But even then, I'm still a monster all the same."

"I know," Buff Frog nodded as he kept looking towards the ground.

Meanwhile, Archibald suddenly perked up when he saw something nearby that was green. It was the fifth casino chip that they were looking for, as he picked it up.

"Hey guys, I found the fifth chip," he showed it to his teammates. "We're halfway done with our mission."

"Good job Archibald," Tom praised him.

"Thanks for that Tom," the gargoyle thanked him sincerely.

"Anytime," the demon looked at the frog monster. "It's really starting to get late. We should head out and find the last 5 casino chips."

Buff Frog said nothing. He took in everything that was said as he followed his teammates to continue the mission. All the cheers and auras of happiness had all but faded, and there was not a trace of anyone having even passed…

* * *

As for the other teams, they all followed the same routine; end up on a pinball table, played a game of bingo, won some money, got off the pinball table, walk around for a bit, and then rinse and repeat.

However, there was one snag in Team Dread's routine.

"Useless bags of flesh," Nebula sneered as there were monsters ahead of them.

"I'll exterminate them all!" Upsilon blared as he opened fire on the monsters in his path while Nebula fought some monsters of her own.

The closest Janna got to helping out was taking out a Craw monster with her hairdryer and with a swift kick. Otherwise, they didn't need her help this time. She tried to attack a monster with her hairdryer, but Nebula already handled it by blasting a purple energy beam from her wand. She then tried helping Upsilon, but by the time she got to him, all the monsters around him were taken out too. To put it short, the Filipino wasn't required for assistance.

"Huh, I guess I'm not required for this brawl this time," she sighed as she had to wait patiently for them to be finished.

Just then, something else tapping her shoulder, which Janna turned around and saw what it was: It was the same octopus monster that tried abducting Nebula some time ago, and was now about to make off with Janna. Once it got a hold of her, she started to yelp and squirm out, but she realized why Nebula was having difficulty with trying to escape.

"Grrr, do you know who you're messing with," she wrenched around to work herself into a furious spin. The impact caused the monster to lose its grip, but it didn't escape the wrath of Janna's boot.

Being kicked down, the octopus monster was taken out of commission and vanished shortly afterwards. She was about to head over to Nebula and Upsilon to tell her how she took out the octopus monster that tried to abduct Nebula, but something stopped her.

Two more octopus monsters appeared as they snatched her arms and carried her way, officially abducting her.

"AAAIIIIII!"

Janna's sudden scream was heard by Nebula, who had just bashed another Craw monster before turning in the direction of where Janna screamed from. When she saw Janna's abductors make off with her, she flew off after them, nearly running over Upsilon. Once Upsilon had unscrambled his sensors, he followed right behind Nebula to chase after the two octopus monsters and rescue Janna…

* * *

After getting a slew of bingos on the pinball tables, Team Star decided to leave the slides and take a little break. Winning so much was a little overkill and neither Star nor Andrew thought they could take along the money that they won.

However, their money issue became resolved when they were taken by surprise and blasted by a smoke bomb.

"Hey, is everyone okay," Star asked her two partners.

"Yeah," Marco panted.

"I'm fine too," Andrew waved away the smoke. "But what the heck just shot that smoke bomb at us?"

His question was quickly answered when the three of them saw five octopus monsters that resembled the captors of Marco in their path. Star, Marco and Andrew stood back to back, disregarding the money that they dropped when shaken by the smoke bomb.

"Listen, everyone, don't let them grab you," Star cried out. "We don't want to end up going on another goose chase!"

"That wasn't even my fault," Marco muttered. "Anyway, I'm just glad that they don't resemble sharks. I can't take a bath ever since I saw that shark movie."

"Whoa, that's crazy," Andrew pumped his fists and got ready for a fight. "But luckily, they resemble octopuses instead!"

"Alright you two, let's beat these fiends together," Star had made the first strike by jumping into the air and slamming her wand down onto one of the octopus monsters' heads.

She then followed by unleashing a Dagger Crystal Heart Attack on them, stunning them for a brief moment. This allowed Marco to karate chop one of the monsters before kicking it with his foot and then with his shin. Andrew had drilled right into another one and gave an uppercut after.

It was then another one of the octopus monsters tried to grab Andrew with its tentacle, resulting in them having to do the tango if Andrew had any hopes of avoiding captivity. Andrew then jerked away as he brought his fist forward, which made direct contact with the monster. The monster fell to the ground with a shriek just before it vanished. Now there were the two remaining octopus monsters standing.

"Alright, how does that feel?" Andrew cocked his fists.

Meanwhile, Star delivered a rainbow fist punch attack from her wand, which hit one of the octopus monsters right in the face, just as Marco jumped in and karate chopped it. As they were holding that one off, Andrew took care of the other one by drilling down onto the monster's head and knocking it out before he grabbed it by the tentacles and spun around before tossing it onto the one Star and Marco were dealing with. Both of the monsters collided with each other which led to an instant defeat. But just to be safe, Marco gave an extra karate chop so they won't be able to fight back.

"And there's one for safekeeping," the Latino dusted his hands off.

"What, were you waiting for the last moment to say something like that," Andrew scoffed as Marco rubbed the back of his head.

"I think I hang around with Star a little too much." He admitted shyly.

"Hey, a daily dose of me is what_ everybody_ needs," Star chirped.

"A _single_ dose of you is all that I can handle," Andrew groaned before suddenly perking up. "But on a better note, can we go and play bingo again? I think I'm getting the hang of it."

When he asked that, he saw both Star and Marco smirking in his direction, impressed that he actually enjoys that. Andrew caught onto this as he decided to add for safe keeping.

"Of course we are on our way to stop Ludo, but-"

"Whatever you say, And-a-roo," Star beamed as she started to race ahead. "I'm pretty sure there's another board ahead we can play bingo on!"

Andrew was motionless by what Star just called him. It wasn't until Marco snapped his fingers in his face that he came too. The both of them followed Star to play another round of bingo on a different pinball table. As they were catching up with Star, Andrew had this question that came out of his mouth:

"Where did the name 'And-a-roo' come from?"

* * *

"Alright, I won my third game of bingo!" Jackie cheered. "This is a lot of fun like you wouldn't even know it!"

"Yeah, you go gurl!" Pony Head whooped as she expected more money to fall in front of her.

However, instead of money, a single gold key dropped. This got Pony Head curious as she grabbed it with her tongue. It wasn't until Daron came up that she said something.

"Hey, look what came out after Jackie won her third round of bingo," Pony Head showed. "It's a key. It _isn't _money, but it might lead to something important."

"Yeah, it does look like we should keep it," Daron smiled. "But since she won it, I think Jackie should hold onto the key."

"I should hold onto what?" Jackie overheard parts of the talk and approached.

"This key that you won from the round of bingo," Daron said as Pony Head reluctantly gave the key to Jackie.

"Oh, that's cool," the skateboarder girl smiled as she examined the key. "I wonder what it goes to."

"We'll have to find out and see," Daron motioned for them to follow her. "Let's move onward girls."

They obliged as they followed after her, with Jackie pocketing the key and she looked forward to discovering what the key goes to…

* * *

"Well, I guess we have to go up again," Archibald told his teammates.

"We'll join you in just a minute," Tom exclaimed.

"Just give me one moment," Buff Frog declared.

The three of them went up to the gap that was above them. Archibald flew up there, Tom levitated upward, and Buff Frog took one big leap to reach the top with his crew. Then Buff Frog led the pack as they were now going through a glitzy hallway, which they continued running across until they saw a light blue color chip at the end.

"Got it, six chips down," the frog monster proclaimed.

"Now we only need to get four more casino chips." Archibald cried out.

"They shouldn't be too hard to track down," Tom exclaimed.

It didn't take long for them to find the seventh pink color casino chip, which they claimed as their client contacted them to hear of their progress.

"You've got 7 so far? Excellent, now go and get the rest."

That was what was said before the client hung up.

"Vow, he's sure grateful," Buff Frog mulled.

"Maybe because he is expecting us to finish," Tom said. "I know I am."

They went to find the last three casino chips…

* * *

"I recommend not falling if I were you Nebula," Upsilon warned as he and Nebula raced down to rescue Janna from those two octopus monsters. She didn't care about the pinball table this time. All she wanted to do was to give those monsters a piece of her mind and have Upsilon give them a piece of his mind too.

_Ugh, that Janna, what the heck was she thinking, allowing herself to be kidnapped like that! _Nebula thought. _First, she goes off to gamble and have us play bingo for fun and now this? She's…she's a troublemaker!_

Nebula didn't have time to zap any incoming monsters, so she left those to Upsilon, who shot them down right out of the sky. The dark girl and the robot were actually working _together _to save Janna.

It was strange. They were actually enemies at one point and they even wanted to kill each other. But now they can stand each other's presence without wanting to deliver glares towards one another. Janna had said that they could be friends, and she was quite right.

Not wasting any time, the two of them zipped down the pinball slide. They couldn't see where the octopus monsters took Janna, but she had the right kind of instinct to believe where they had taken her.

Well, that and all of Upsilon's equipment, including his radar, scanner, tracker and any other device that could aid them in rescuing Janna…

* * *

After they had navigated on giant dice blocks, strolling through certain hallways, and breaking through two glass windows while battling through a pinball table, Team Star had reached another bingo table to play bingo on. This actually impressed Andrew as Star and Marco were happy that he was having a great time playing bingo with them. However, this incoming advice from Star threw him off.

"Try not to fall off the edges okay Andrew?"

"Sorry, but if I had plans of falling from a thousand feet to my death today, I would have taken it, but I'm not," Andrew huffed. "Besides, I can still glide my way to safety."

"Well, if you're going to land cracks like that Andrew, I'm gonna have to ban you from sarcasm."

"I'd rather ban your cheesy quotes and obvious advice."

"Alright you two," Marco got them to stop. "We're about to play bingo again, and it's going to be fun and doesn't require arguing; unless you happen to be one of those old retired folks that take it way too seriously."

"Now that you mention it, they do treat it as some kind of iconic sport," Star bemused, getting Andrew confused.

"What is it?"

"Oh nevermind Andrew, don't worry about it," Star shook it off. "Let's just play bingo."

"I'm way ahead of you Star."

It was then the three of them split up to hunt down some bingo chips. Each of them claimed at least one bingo chip, but Star missed number four, and just after Marco claimed number five, Andrew zipped past number six without even noticing.

"Wow, we must have used up all our luck earlier on," Star stated as she claimed chip number seven.

"We better not miss the last two chips then," Marco declared, he and Andrew quickly went separate directions.

Marco took a left path, as he rolled down a long blue slide that overtook most of the bingo slide He had been so intent on getting the eighth bingo chip, which was impossible to miss since it was directly in his path. But who couldn't say that an incoming obstacle could stop him?

"I got the eighth bingo chip," Marco announced as he grabbed it with no outside interference. "Go for it, Andrew!"

Andrew meanwhile, had veered onto the right, where a ninth bingo chip was located. It wasn't directly in his way like Marco's was, so he was going to have to stay extra content. He dodged around the bumpers in the way, not stopping his serving until bingo chip number nine was collected.

Star stayed smack dab in the middle, rolling along until Marco and Andrew rolled right up alongside her. They barreled up the slide that seemed to ascend right into the night sky. As the three were flung into the air, the lights on the bingo board started dancing, resulting in all three of them to cheer:

_"BINGO!"_

* * *

Having 7 casino chips in their possession, the Demonstrix members were quite content with being able to find the remaining three, which wouldn't be long now at the pace they were going at. Because their client wasn't impressed that they didn't finish already, they picked up the pace.

"We've got some more monsters to deal with!" Archibald hollered. "Buff Frog, there's a lot of them!"

"Alright, leave them to me," Buff Frog got ready to handle the monsters.

"I hope you're not thinking of doing this fight alone without me, are you," Tom hinted.

"Of course not; you know I couldn't do this vithout you Tom," Buff Frog proclaimed. "Same goes for you, Archibald."

The three of them went together to take care of the monsters in front of them. Buff Frog started the battle by body slamming the incoming monsters before picking one up and hurling it right into the others. He then grabbed the two standing monsters and bashed their heads in, knocking them out unconscious. Archibald got the last one standing by tackling it and then biting it on the head and then kicked it. Those monsters were knocked out.

Meanwhile, Tom had an unexpected attacker approached him, but this was put to a stop when Tom punched that monster's lights out with a fire punch. Something came out of the monsters' pocket and it was revealed to be the eighth blue casino chip. Archibald swept underneath and grabbed it.

However, before anything else could be said, another herd of Craw monsters came to the scene; this one consisting of six monsters.

"You ready to do a teamwork attack," Buff Frog turned to both of his comrades.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be," Archibald quirked.

"I'm ready to get this done and over with too." Tom remarked.

"Then let's go."

Buff Frog started by getting out his chewing prum and chewed it until he blew several bubbles towards the six monsters and when they blew up, they got stuck onto the floor where they were unable to move. Tom took the center stage when he summoned a flame wheel which he cast upon the 6 monsters and giving them scorching pain. This did the trick by leaving behind charred marks. Archibald finished them off by spitting out acid at the 6 monsters individually. This caused them to be defeated and vanish into thin air. Coming from the impact was the 9th casino chip that they had to claim as Tom grabbed it.

"Alright, only need one more casino chip."

"Right, let's go."

"Let's go find the last casino chip."

With that said and done, they walked on to find the final casino chip that they had to find…

* * *

Pony Head wanted to have possession of the key that Jackie had. But because it wasn't the key that Pony Head won, she couldn't keep it.

She had to learn a lesson that she can't keep being selfish regarding what she can claim and she also had to see that she _can't_ hoard everything she finds to herself. In this case, since that key was won by Jackie, the key belonged to the skateboarder girl. And whatever the key goes to and reveals will be going to Jackie as well.

_Oh, I guess it's probably for the best. _Pony Head sighed in her mind. _After all, Jackie did win that key, and she did earn it fair and square, so I'm just going to let her keep it._

As these thoughts went through her, she then saw some Craw monsters in her path.

"Incoming gurls, we got monsters ahead of us," Pony Head was more than ready to take them on.

"Well you know the drill girls," Daron had her fake wand out. "Let's do this."

"I'm with you all the way Daron," Jackie smirked before jumping into the fray with Pony Head and Daron joining afterwards.

Jackie made the first strike by hitting a Craw monster in the face with a swift kick before karate chopping it in the gut. The Craw monster was then hurled right into another that fell victim to Daron's fake wand, in which she bashed the second one repeatedly with no effort. Pony Head then took over by jabbing the third one with her horn, causing a shriek to occur before falling on top of the other two. Pony Head wrapped this show up by zapping the three of them with a magic energy beam from her wand. Needless to say, it got the job done and it caused the three Craw monsters to incinerate.

"Well, that takes care of this trash," Pony Head smirked. "What do you say we press forward gurls?"

"Sure thing Pony Head," Daron gave her one thumb up. "I'm looking forward to whatever else we may encounter."

"Me too," Jackie grinned. "I can't wait to see what this key I found goes to and what will be revealed afterwards."

"Same with us Jackie," Daron and Pony Head chimed simultaneously.

The three of them pressed onward with excitement building on what that key Jackie will reveal...

* * *

"Alright Upsilon, do your thing and attack those fiends," Nebula barked as they made it to the two octopus monsters that abducted Janna.

Upsilon wasted no time in rapidly firing away at the two monsters, and Nebula wanted them to be brought down as quickly as possible. Janna felt one of the bullets almost pierce right through her beanie as she was growing tense.

"Watch where you're shooting," she begged. "Don't shoot at my beanie!'

Eventually, Upsilon succeeded in shooting down one of the octopus monsters, which caused both the kidnappers and Janna to tumble out of the air. Nebula instantly flew over as Upsilon continued to open fire. She dodged over the shooting arsenals as she reached the collapsed monster. Janna was trapped under both of them, as she couldn't do anything but extend her hand out. Exasperated, Nebula flung herself and fired a purple beam from her wand towards the one Upsilon wasn't shooting at, which caused it to be beaten and vanish. Nebula pulled herself together to go and retrieve Janna.

The second octopus monster got stomped on by Nebula's foot before meeting its end when Upsilon launched a missile in its direction, leading to Nebula to jump out of the way with Janna in her hands. Once the explosion occurred, the two octopus monsters were taken out and gone, as the three of them stared at the ash spot that occurred.

"Whoa…" Janna gawked at the sight in front of her. She then turned to Nebula, who greeted her with narrowed eyes and a pretty furious look which also had hints of concern in her eyes.

"Are you absolutely _insane_!?" Nebula yelled furiously. "What the heck did you do to cause those two fiends to kidnap you anyway!?"

"There was actually three," Janna smiled sheepishly. "And I may have _taken out_ their leader, which caused the other two to become enraged and abducted me as a result…"

Nebula had to clench her fist and prevent herself from going into a fit of rage. "It doesn't matter, like you told me, your only a human and you don't have the kind of skills like Upsilon and I. Speaking of which, if it weren't for us, you would have been toast thanks to those monsters! What do you have to say to that, you troublemaker!?"

Nebula was expecting Janna to apologize for doing such a stupid stunt and risk almost losing her life when she got into a scuffle with two octopus monsters. But she wasn't prepared for what she did do.

Janna unexpectedly hugged Nebula.

"Ha, I knew that you and Upsilon cared about me," she exclaimed.

"Huh…what…?" Nebula could only utter.

"I guess I'm not just useless baggage to you guys after all," Janna gleamed. "You two normally disregard me but this time you put in your efforts to rescue me!"

"Hmph," Nebula pushed Janna off as she glowered. "I didn't come to save you. I just knew that without you, we wouldn't get through the other dimensions, so I was only saving your skills."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard this all before," Janna was now leaning onto Nebula in a teasing manner. "But then again, that may not be the whole story, now is it?"

"I only gave my assistance because Nebula seemed very intent with taking out the two octopus monsters," Upsilon intervened. "But enough about that, my scanners are picking up some interesting activity."

"Oh, what kind of interesting activity," Janna raised her eyebrow as did Nebula. Upsilon simply lifted one of his arms into a particular direction where the activity was taking place. Janna and Nebula followed their gaze into that direction and they gasped and scowled respectively.

"It's Ludo," Nebula growled while clenching her fists. "Looks like it's time to get answers, ask questions, and get some revenge."

Without another word, Nebula jumped off and flew down in that direction. Janna was about to follow but noticed Upsilon was being quiet and was staring at her.

"Well, what are you waiting for Upsilon? Ludo's down there," she tried to encourage. "You know; _exterminate and destroy: fire, fire_ and what not."

"I know," Upsilon replied with a heavier tone than usual. "But I have a question of my own."

"Well save it for Ludo, let's go get him," Janna said.

"It's a question for _you,_ not that incompetent Avarian," the robot elaborated.

Janna had to mull for a few moments before allowing him to ask away.

"Do you think…that comrade Nebula saved you because she cared?"

"Yeah…I think so. After all, it wasn't the first time she did it."

She recalled the experience on Jail Island when the island was set to blow up, as she scurried off after Nebula, with Upsilon taking that as a good enough answer before following. Janna smile turned into a frown.

"Not that she remembers…"

* * *

"…and there vee go, last casino chip obtained," Buff Frog sighed happily as he picked up the last one they need on top of a giant die where he reached into a hidden ledge and grabbed the silver chip for himself. Tom and Archibald were accompanying him as they proceeded to contact their client on their mission success.

"Alright, we have gotten all ten of the casino chips," Tom told the client. "We're ready to take on whatever the next mission you have for us."

"Excellent work boys, I can _always_ count on you!" The client expressed his appreciation.

"See Buff Frog, our client can always count on us so he is showing praise for our deed," the demon tried to inform the frog monster, only to notice that he was staring at something else. "Uh…Buff Frog?"

"What's up with Buff Frog, if I may ask?" The client wondered.

"It's probably nothing, he might have just seen a fly," Tom waved off. "Now we are ready for that nex-"

"Comrades, I see Ludo again," Buff Frog pointed to the Avarian in the distance, who was flying on a bat monster. This caused Archibald, Tom and the client to snap too as the former two looked and saw Ludo for themselves.

"Ludo? If you see him, then go down there and take him out quickly!"

"But what about our ne-"

"That is your next mission: take him down!" The client hastily commanded.

"And best part is there's no Star Butterfly or her comrades; Marco Diaz and Andrew Tresor in sight," Buff Frog exclaimed, which caused the client to sound even more thrilled by what he just revealed.

"That's all the more reason to stop him right now!"

Buff Frog ended up smirking as he started to head off. "I'm starting to like strange client a little bit more."

"Whatever," Tom followed. "We have very limited time to waste."

Archibald nodded and started to sing about how great it'd be to take down Ludo again as he followed them…

* * *

As they returned to solid ground, bounced off of springs and took out more monsters that stood in their path, it was apparent that all three members of Team Star were in a wicked good mood. Now seeing Star Butterfly in a good mood was typical, but she managed to rub off her optimism on Marco, and even Andrew. Marco felt a lot less worried about things going wrong, and _even _Andrew had loosened himself up a little. It seems the three of them playing bingo on several tables brought them closer than before.

All three of them wished that they could have _more_ bonding moments like this one.

But of course, once the adventure was over, it would probably go back to the way it was: Marco would go back to Earth where he'll hang out with Jackie, Andrew would go back to his floating island to guard the Ruler Gemstone as always, and Star…could possibly take off and vanish for another 5 months. They decided to think of the good things and not bad things.

"Ah, didn't someone mention already that it's such a beautiful night," Star took in the nighttime air was gazing at the night sky.

"I'm pretty sure someone already did, but yeah, it is beautiful tonight," Andrew spoke in a rather cheerful mood.

"Hey guys," Marco pointed to some bingo cards in mid-air. "There's an aerial bingo round!"

Star and Andrew glanced at each other and smirked before grabbing Marco and deciding to give it a try. They touched the first chip as it disappeared.

"Whoa,"

The rest of the descent was spent calmly swaying back and forth, thanks to Star Butterfly. They had collected several bingo chips along the way. It was so soothing and relaxing, it was like nothing could shatter this moment.

Unfortunately, this moment wasn't meant to last, as Star saw a certain Avarian riding on a bat monster and her eyes grew wide.

"I see Ludo! I see Ludo!" Star yelled as she pointed while accidentally letting go of Marco and Andrew.

Andrew was able to glide in the air as he went back up to Star to see for himself.

"Where is Ludo, where?" He looked to see him.

Marco, on the other hand, was falling since he couldn't fly.

"Uh hello," he called out. "Average human who can't fly falling to his death over here!"

Star was able to hear him as she rushed on over and grabbed him before he plummeted to his death.

"Uh, sorry about that Marco," Star apologized as the Latino was keeping a tight grip on Star's hand.

"Next time that happens, please don't say it until we're on solid ground, okay?" Marco begged.

"Yeah Star," Andrew agreed. "You and I can fly with no problem, but Marco doesn't have wings and he can't fly."

"Of course," Star got to the point. "Anyway, Ludo's right there."

She motioned her head in that direction instead of her hand so she wouldn't let go of Marco again. Both Marco and Andrew saw him for themselves.

"I see him," Marco cried. "And some other people are after him too!"

"Me too Marco..." Andrew agreed.

"So we have to do something!" Star yelled.

"I have a perfect idea," Andrew smirked. "I say this calls for us to pay _him_ a visit and deal with him the old fashion way."

"Oh ho ho, now you're speaking _my_ language Andrew," Star smirked back in response. "Are you willing to do this Marco?"

"As I'll _ever be_," Marco grew a smirk of his own. "Let's settle this."

"Yeah, so we can put a stop to him once and for all!"

As all three of them cheered at the idea, Star flew off after Ludo with Marco in her hands while Andrew glided right behind Star, as all three of them look forward to dealing with Ludo and stop him from putting forth his universal conquest plan…

* * *

By this point, Team Sparkle had done quite a bit of traveling and they were almost exhausted from the amount of traveling they did today; from the Coastal Ruins Dimension, the Big City Plant Dimension, and now the Casino Dimension.

"Hey girls, I don't know about you, but I'm beat," Daron stretched. "We've done quite a bit of traveling today."

"I know Daron," Jackie wiped her forehead. "We've been through the Coastal Ruins Dimension, the Big City Plant Dimension and now we've trekked the Casino Dimension."

"Uh huh," Pony Head nodded as she looked around a little. Amazingly, her eyes caught the attention of something in front of her.

It was a cage, and inside it was a glowing yellow gemstone.

"Hey gurls, check it out!" Pony Head floated over to the cage and got them to approach it.

"It's a cage, good find there Pony Head," Jackie praised before seeing the glowing yellow gemstone inside of it. "Hey, what's that glowing yellow stone in there?"

Once Daron saw it, she instantly recognized it and grew wide-eyed.

"It's a Miracle Gemstone!" Daron squealed as she picked up the cage in excitement. "I can't believe it! We actually found a Miracle Gemstone, girls!"

"Uh, Miracle Gemstones," Jackie sounded like she never heard of a Miracle Gemstone. "What's a Miracle Gemstone?"

"Oh Jackie, they're only the most important magical relics that exist," Daron exclaimed. "There are seven gemstones total and when you collect them all, a great miracle will occur! Star has used them one time just to save the entire universe!"

"Ah, I see," Jackie rubbed her chin. "Now that you mention it, a Miracle Gemstone does sound kind of familiar."

"Ah gurl, I remember seeing a Miracle Gemstone before," Pony Head spoke up. "B-Fly showed me one of those things that one time when she found one in the Amethyst Arcade, and it looked absolutely important!"

"This yellow Miracle Gemstone, in particular, was the one that was given to Marco Diaz when he saved Echo Creek from a life-threatening missile attack."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there," now Pony Head looked curious. "You're saying the Earth Turd saved Echo Creek?"

While she asked that, Jackie was standing right next to her with a smirk on her face, remembering how Marco saved Echo Creek all by himself.

"That's right Pony Head," Daron gushed. "Marco Diaz saved Echo Creek from a missile that Ludo found. Ludo had threatened to blow up Echo Creek with the missile, only to find out that it was a dud, and it couldn't explode. Ludo decided to go and repair it, but Marco decided to step in and beat him to the missile. He never gave up and he wasn't going to let him get away with it. Once he got to the missile, he disabled it, stopped it from blowing up the city and foiled Ludo's plan of taking down the city; all by himself with no help! Marco became a hero, and was awarded the yellow Miracle Gemstone as a result!"

Pony Head was fascinated with what Daron explained. In fact, she had suddenly gotten a whole new amount of respect for the Latino karate master.

"That's interesting," she admitted. "It was great that he saved Echo Creek."

"It was," Daron smiled.

"Yeah," Jackie sighed happily. "Marco is the _coolest._"

"I must admit, Marco isn't _too bad_ of an Earth dude," Pony Head confessed. "He's _kinda _cool, especially from the time we decided to make our own pizza with 100 mushrooms on it."

"In any case, we better get this gemstone out of the cage," Daron got back on track. "Jackie, you have that key on you."

"I sure do," Jackie took out the key and it was used to unlock the cage and Daron took it out.

"Well, since it was your key, I think you should be the one to keep this gemstone Jackie," Daron gave it to her.

"Wait, what?" Jackie was surprised. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate this gift, but why should she take it?

"That's right Jackie, it's your gemstone to keep," Daron exclaimed. "You won that key, and that means the treasure that the key goes to belongs to you too. In that case, it's _that_ Miracle Gemstone, so it's your gemstone, Jackie."

"Yeah, I have to admit this, but you deserve it Jackie gurl." Pony Head spoke up.

"Well…thank you dudettes," Jackie gave a sincere smile. "I really appreciate this."

"Anytime Jackie," Daron boasted. "I'm just glad we have one. Maybe next time we run into Ludo, he will think_ twice_ before he messes with us!"

It was then something loomed over them as Pony Head saw this and went speechless. Jackie then noticed it too and she wasn't speaking either. Daron noticed that her partners were being quiet.

"Hey Pony Head, Jackie, what's wrong," Daron asked. "We have a Miracle Gemstone, and we can use it to show Ludo what for!"

Suddenly, Daron felt a shadow loom over her which caused her to turn around, which was a big mistake. The person she saw was a certain Avarian on a bat monster, and he was looming over Team Sparkle in a menacing manner.

"Well, well, well…looking for _me_, my _dear?_" Ludo announced with a wicked smug smirk on his face...

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 8!**

**THAT'S RIGHT! THE THIRD MIRACLE GEMSTONE IS OWNED BY TEAM SPARKLE; THE YELLOW ONE! **

**I REALLY LIKE HOW THIS STORY IS PROGRESSING SO FAR, AND IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET BETTER FROM HERE!**

**SO WITH ALL THAT SAID AND DONE, YOU CAN REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE, AND WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER COMES OUT!**


	10. Monster Carnival

**CHAPTER 9-MONSTER CARNIVAL:**

* * *

Team Sparkle was really in a jam now as they had been cornered by the last person they thought that they'd run into. Ludo was standing on his bat monster and had two claw arms in his possession. He had overheard them talking about finding a Miracle Gemstone as well as wanting to use it to put him in his place. This turned out to have been a big mistake since he has plans in store for them now.

"Oh, it's you _three_ again," Ludo scowled while looking at them right in their faces.

"Well girls, we _ran_ into Ludo," Daron chuckled nervously before gulping.

"That you have," Ludo mocked. "And it's clear that this sleepover is just about up, now to tuck you girls in!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Pony Head glowered.

"That's right, and if we beat you once before, we can do it again," Jackie pocketed her gemstone before getting into a karate pose, similar to Marco's.

"Uh, but now where is Star Butterfly," Daron wondered as she surveyed for her idol, wondering if she'd make the right time to show up.

"Aw, looking for your precious Star Butterfly," Ludo mocked before sneering. "Well if you think that your hero is going to save you, _you're wrong!" _

With a snap of his fingers, several monsters showed up; these ones consisted of Craw monsters.

"Now that we've gotten acquainted, ahem…GET THEM!"

The Craw monsters roared before charging right for the girly team. Of course, the three of them weren't going to go down without a fight.

"Ludo, I think you've underestimated our powers," Daron got out her fake wand and charged into the fight.

"Yeah, you jerk," Pony Head was ready to fight too. "You mess with us, and now you'll regret this!"

"Time to bring it on Ludo," Jackie had told the Avarian.

Then the fight got underway. Daron made the first move by bashing her fake wand into the head of a craw monster right across the cheek before smacking him into another craw monster. Pony Head then stepped up by jabbing her horn countless times into a third craw monster. She then zapped that one and the other two Daron took care of with her magical horn. Meanwhile, Jackie had been holding her own ground as well. She had karate chopped one monster before kicking another one in the chest. When another craw monster approached her, she slammed her fist into it while not facing towards it, before turning around and kicking the fiend with her shin. She then tossed one of the craw monsters she knocked out and flung it into another monster, knocking them out.

Ludo was in disbelief upon seeing Team Sparkle easily overtake his clan of monsters. He could understand Pony Head since she does have magic and an attitude to boot, but Daron was a human despite her fake wand and the time she was held hostage by Ludo. And then there was Jackie, who looked like she never did any fighting in her life, and yet here she was, using karate against his summoned army with no sweat. Perhaps he had underestimated this girly team and that they could put up just as much of a fight as the three other teams?

The craw monsters that were thrashed disappeared, only for Ludo to snap his fingers again and summoned more monsters after them. There were four craw monsters as well as four bat monsters. Being the only one who could fly, Pony Head decided to hold off the bat monsters while Daron went for the craw monsters. While they were doing that, Jackie curled her hands into a fist and scowled at the Avarian in front of her.

"Alright, just what is it that you want from _us_ dude," the cool skateboarder girl sneered.

This simply led to Ludo cackling as if that was a joke, as he lowered his bat to meet Jackie right in the face.

"I originally had nothing that I wanted from you," he scoffed. "But all of that _changed _when you revealed you found a Miracle Gemstone, and now I'll be taking what's mine right after I finish with you brats!"

"Never," Jackie stood her ground. "You will_ never_ get possession of the Miracle Gemstone."

"Oh, and just what are you going to do," Ludo snorted. "Try to fight me and take a page from that _karate boy_ that I dread so much?!"

Letting out a growl, she had wanted to punch the Avarian's lights out, but seeing it wouldn't do any good, she resisted doing it. Instead, she did a backflip over him and then landed her foot onto a Craw monster, which knocked it out cold. Jackie aided Daron and Pony Head with clearing out the monsters.

"Alright, you girls asked for it!" Ludo summoned even more monsters. There weren't just craw monsters and bat monsters, but now there were turtle monsters and even 2 octopus monsters for desperate measures.

"Oh my goodness, just how many of these monsters are there," Daron went and bashed another monster with her fake wand.

"Gurls, I think we may have a problem," Pony Head was starting to admit as she zapped a bat monster out of the sky. "We're becoming outnumbered."

"I know, and this could take a turn for the worse," despite saying that, Jackie managed to hurl one of the turtle monsters on its back being flinging it into an octopus monster. "We might not be able to take out these monsters."

Despite their futile effort, Ludo decided to get the remaining monsters to stand down and stand to the side.

"Well, that isn't too bad for a couple of girls who could fight," Ludo shook his head. "But as you can see, you're clearly outnumbered now. However, all of this could be prevented if you'd just hand over the yellow Miracle Gemstone right this instant."

"Over my dead body Ludo," Daron snarled. "You _aren't_ taking the Miracle Gemstone from us!"

"Oh I'm not, am I," with a snap of his fingers, the monsters vanished, but instead, he held both claw arms out and was about to use them. "Since you impose a challenge on me, I'll have to do this the_ hard_ way."

With a simple click, he used one claw arm to grab a hold of Daron.

"AAAAHHHH!" Daron screamed as she was caught by the claw arm.

"DARON!" Jackie yelled before Ludo used the other claw arm on the skateboarder girl, succeeding in capturing her too. "OH NO!"

"DON'T WORRY GURLS," Pony Head charged up her horn. "I'LL SAVE YOU!"

"Not if I can help it." With another snap, an octopus monster came out of nowhere and unexpectedly grabbed Pony Head by force. The floating unicorn head tried to break free and even blast the monster down, but it was _no_ use. It had a massive grip on her and had her horn gripped tight in a lock.

Now turning to the two girls he captured, Ludo leered at both of them.

"Now I'll give you a choice, either give me the Miracle Gemstone, or I will take it by force, the _**hard** _way," he hissed.

"Grrr, you won't get away with this Ludo," Daron barked.

Ludo laughed that off as he continued.

"This is only the beginning of my master plan," he stated. "Soon I'll have everything in place, and with your help, skateboarder girl and your gemstone, I'll be closer to completing it."

"My name is _Jackie_ dude," Jackie was not in a good mood since this Avarian had her held hostage. "And I won't give you what you want."

"Well then _Jackie, _how would you and Daron feel if I kept you imprisoned for the rest of time," Ludo was growing smug, yet impatient too.

Without warning, Daron let out a loud shriek which gave Ludo an earache. Ludo was now at his breaking point.

"That does it, you two are going to fork over your Miracle Gemstone one way or another," he bellowed.

"Not if I have something to say about it Ludo: Mega Narwhal Blast!" A voice from nearby cried out as a giant narwhal was launched right towards Ludo. Before it hit, both Ludo and Daron saw who that was and it was revealed to be Star Butterfly. Ludo looked shocked while Daron looked relieved.

"STAR BUTTERFLY!" Both of them yelled simultaneously.

"That would be _me_." Star stood smiling confidently.

Because the narwhal blast did a significant impact, it caused Ludo to lose his focus and the claw arms ended up dropping both Daron and Jackie who were now falling down below.

"Don't worry Daron," Star yelled as she flew into action where she caught Daron just in the nick of time.

"Star, you came to save me!" Daron hugged her.

"Of course I have Daron," Star smiled and gave her a wink.

Then there was Jackie, who was still falling, but a certain _Latino karate boy_ wasn't about to let_ that_ happen.

"No worries Jackie," Marco declared while puffing his chest out like an important hero. "I'll save you!"

Despite the fact that he_ couldn't_ fly, he dove down and was determined to grab a hold of Jackie before she fell. Right on time, he grabbed a hold of her just as he started to roll onto the floor. Luckily he only substance a couple of injuries, but he didn't care. All that matter was that Jackie was safe: _THAT_ was his top priority.

Jackie was mind blown by what Marco just did. He went through all that trouble just to save her from falling to her death. Normally she doesn't get kidnapped, but there was this one time where she and some other student went on a field trip into a crazy looking dimension that Star brought them too where she was surfing on flying Manta Rays. That yarn monster held her and the other students and if it weren't for Marco getting that text message, he wouldn't have known.

_Wow, Marco just saved me… Did he go through all that just to save me? I am so lucky that I have him._

As Jackie was lost in her thoughts, Ludo noticed what happened and growled. Positioning his claw arms, he was going to grab them again.

"Ugh, you girls won't get away from me," he snarled. "I'll be taking what's mine!"

Before he could grab them again, Andrew soared down and delivered a kick to the back of his head. Although he hung onto the bat monster, he lost both of his claw arms. Andrew drilled down and tore right through the claw arms, turning them into rubble.

"That just about thwarts your attempts at more kidnappings Ludo," Andrew smirked as he approached the octopus monster that was holding Pony Head hostage. "And now it's time I beat the stuffing out of this octopus menace and send him back to the deep."

With one swing, Andrew punched the octopus monster and delivered an uppercut so strong, it caused it to release Pony Head. The monster went sky high before Andrew caught up to it and delivered the final blow with his fists, getting it to careen back to the ground, where it screeched one last time before vanishing. Andrew landed on the ground right next to Pony Head, who had watched him take care of that monster.

"Okay, I guess I _should thank you_ for the save Andrew the Treasure Hunter," she unexpectedly thanked him.

"I think we're _even_ now Pony Head," Andrew stated before turning to glare in Ludo's direction.

Star landed with Daron in her hands as she also leered at Ludo.

"Well jeez Ludo, you decided to resort to kidnapping innocent girls too," Star was appalled. "That's a whole new level of low you reached!"

"They simply had what I wanted: the Miracle Gemstone," Ludo then pointed to Jackie who was still on top of Marco. "And that girl over there has possession of it!"

Star decided to disregard that as she then focused on Daron with a serious look on her face.

"Daron, why were you hunting down Ludo?" She asked.

"I just wanted to find you and show you what I'm capable of." Daron whimpered.

"But, you-"

"Especially with how you showed how much you _hate_ me by running off like that," Daron wailed.

Now Star felt some more guilt build up. Yes, she didn't have the time to talk to Daron, but that didn't mean she hated her. It was _far_ from it in fact.

"Look, Daron, it might be true that I said that I had more important things to do than to chat, but that doesn't mean I could hate you," Star said sincerely. "I could _never_ hate you. You are one of the coolest Earth girls that I've met in my lifetime. Why else would I invite you to celebrate Mewnipendence Day, or allow you to come to my sleepover or invite you to my usual friends' meetings? You are important to me, and I don't think anyone could have been a more dedicated fan of me than you."

Now Daron was tearing up. Everything that Star said was true. The fangirl definitely earned a special place in Star's heart. And there was no taking that away from her.

"Oh Star," Daron sobbed before hugging the Mewni princess again, who returned the hug and patted her on the back.

"It'll be okay Daron," she comforted her. "I promise."

As she kept comforting her, Jackie finally found her voice and decided to get off of Marco.

"Hey uh Marco," she wondered. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he muffled. "Just as long as _you're_ safe, that's all that matters."

"Oh Marco," she helped him up. "You are such a noble and dedicated young man."

"Well uh, I do what I can, heh heh," Marco chuckled nervously.

"You know, this reminded _me_ of the time I caught kidnapped by that yarn monster," Jackie recalled. "You remember, the time you sent me anonymous text messages with cats."

"Uh yeah, and I thought 'HELP' was an acronym that stood for something," Marco felt a little embarrassed.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about dude," she nudged him playfully. "It just surprises me that you went through that trouble to rescue me when I haven't done anything for you."

"That's because there was _nothing_ I got stuck in that I needed help getting out of."

"Oh, what about that one time Star went and released that hamster Marisol out of his tank and you got your hand stuck in that gutter?" Jackie reminded. "You looked like you needed some help then."

"Oh yeah, that was a little embarrassing," Marco chuckled lightly.

"I saw that you were stuck and I actually _wanted_ to help you get out," Jackie was being sincere. "But you just told me you were just hanging out like it was nothing."

"Yeah it never came to me," he admitted. "In fact, I thought you would have _laughed _at my predicament."

"Now why would I do that to _you_?"

"Because your one of the coolest girls in school, and I'm…"

"No need to say anymore Marco, I'm _not_ like any of those other popular girls," Jackie exclaimed. "I actually _care_ about you and I was a little upset about how you didn't want my help."

"Oh, sorry about that Jackie…"

"Don't sweat it, dude," Jackie winked at him. "And besides, you're without a doubt, the coolest guy that I have gotten to know."

"Well, thanks for that." Marco started blushing from that compliment.

"It's my pleasure," she gave him a hug, which he returned.

"Okay, if we are done comforting and going down memory lane, could we focus on Ludo," Andrew was getting a little impatient.

"Yeah, in case you forgotten, Ludo's still here!" Pony Head reminded.

"You know Star," Ludo glanced down at the Mewni princess. "Does _this_ remind you of anything?"

"If by _anything _you mean kicking your monsters down and beating them to a pulp just like old times, then yes, this does remind me of something." Star delivered a confident smirk while holding onto Daron.

Ludo emitted a growl and then snapped his fingers.

"SMASH THEM ALL!"

Several more Craw monsters and bat monsters were summoned along with turtle monsters. This pack was larger than what Team Sparkle had to deal with.

"Wow gurls, it looks like we _hit_ the mother-load," Pony Head uttered.

"Daron, I need you to go and leave these monsters to us," Star told her. "I don't want Ludo to do anything else to you."

"But Star…"

"Don't worry, I'll see you again soon, maybe during this adventure," Star promised. "I promise you, now just do this for me."

Daron didn't want to leave Star's side, but she had no choice. It was likely that she would encounter Star again on this adventure, but for now, she needed to allow her to handle these creeps.

"Alright Star, I hope to see you soon," Daron remarked before Star gave her a wink. "Come on Pony Head, we need to go."

"Way ahead of you gurl," Pony Head got out her scissors. "Then tomorrow, we can start traveling again."

"You know it Pony Head," Daron smirked as Pony Head cut open a dimension portal. "Alright Jackie, we need to go now!"

"Oh, I guess you have to go now Jackie," Marco told her. "It was nice to talk to you again."

"It was nice to talk to you again as well Marco,' Jackie had a slight blush on her face. "And thanks for what you did back there."

"Hey, it was my pleasure," he smiled. "I'm just glad you're alright."

"Me too."

"Well, see you later Jackie."

"Wait," before she left, Jackie then walked up to Marco and planted a kiss right on his lips. When she finished, Marco grew big-eyed as she stated. "_That _was for rescuing me by the way."

_"Googaleegoogaleegoogalee,"_ Marco spoke gibberish at the fact that Jackie just kissed him on the _mouth._ This got Jackie to giggle at how cute he was being.

"Oh, your _so_ cute sometimes Marco," she admitted. "I hope I get to see you soon dude."

"Oh, me too Jackie," he uttered in a dreamy tone as Jackie approached the portal. He had a goofy grin and red cheek marks.

"See ya later Marco," she winked at him.

"I'll see ya later too, Jackie!" He waved back.

With one last wave, Jackie entered the portal which vanished the moment she entered.

* * *

After Andrew got his attention, Marco joined Andrew and Star in giving Ludo the firm look as he cackled at how it was Team Star's turn to take him on.

"Well now Star and friends, why not have some fun while you can," Ludo cackled. "After all, you only have two days remaining, and you know who's going to win."

"Yes, _we _are," Star grinned. "We're going to take you down!"

"Not to mention if Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie were able to take out some of your monsters, they'll be _nothing_ on us," Andrew chuckled.

"Don't get so excited fools, theirs were the _easy_ ones," Ludo chortled before flying on his bat monster out of reach. It was then a swarm of craw monsters charged for them along with some turtle monsters and some bat monsters with armor on for size. Instead of recoiling, however, Star just grinned.

"Aw would you look at _that_," said Star. "It looks like Ludo saved the big guns for us!"

"It would appear so," Andrew muttered as the monsters were vastly approaching.

"I'll start this off: Honeybee Tornado Swarm!" Star got the fight started by summoning a swarm of bees from her wand. From there, the honeybees proceeded to swarm around the Craw monsters and _sting_ them consecutively, leaving them caught off guard when Star went and kicked then in combat.

Meanwhile, Marco was in a brawl with one of the turtle monsters and it looked like a duel was about to happen.

"Alright, I must warn you that I am an excellent karate fighter," he told the monster. "In fact, I am a black belt."

The turtle monster didn't take that as a threat as it roared and went charging after Marco. It was then he jumped out of the way, only to land a kick on the turtle monster's back moments later. In a swift motion, he grabbed it by its tail and proceeded to fling in before it landed on its back.

Then there was Andrew, who was dealing with the armor cladding bat monsters while gliding through the air. With a quick movement, Andrew went up before drilling into the bat monsters' armor and pierced right through it. When it broke right off, the bat monster shrieked before charging for Andrew. With a swift punch, he sent the bat monster back before he grabbed a hold of it and hurled it downwards, where it went spiraling down to the turtle monster Marco took care of. With enough force, the collision led to both of them being defeated.

"Well that's how you do a combo attack," Andrew admitted.

As with Star, she dealt with her opponents with a syrup tsunami shockwave, getting the monsters stuck in the stuff as Star followed up with Rainbow Blasts, Rainbow Fist Punches, Mega Narwhal Blasts, Cupcake Blasts, and whatever other types of spells she felt like using on these fiends.

Eventually, those rounds of monsters were taken care of, only for Ludo to whistle and summon even more monsters; a total of 20 monsters to be exact: 5 craw monsters, 5 bat monsters, 5 turtle monsters, and 5 octopus monsters. Aside from feeling outnumbered, Star was wondering one thing.

"Alright Ludo, what's up," she started. "What's with all the new monsters? And don't say these were the background monsters either because I've never seen them before in my life!"

"I have never seen these monsters before either," Marco added.

"Same with me," Andrew grunted. "Just where did you get _all_ of these monsters from anyway, Ludo?!"

"Hah, well that's a secret; one that you'll _never _find out." The Avarian snorted.

"Well, we _still_ won't give up so easily Ludo," Marco kept his ground.

"Still, they're everywhere," Andrew was feeling slightly overwhelmed by this.

"Not with some teamwork power," Star snapped her fingers. "You two ready to put Star Butterfly Overdrive into _overdrive?_"

"We're on it Star," both of them then went to join Star in their special attack.

Andrew grabbed Marco by the legs who grabbed Star by the legs while she had gotten out her wand to use. After spinning around several times or so, Andrew let go of Marco and Marco jumped up and delivered a swift kick towards Star, giving her the skyrocketing boost she needed to zip all across the area.

**"BLAST AWAY!" **

Once again, Star zipped throughout the whole area while her wand was releasing cutesy bugs, diamonds, narwhals, rainbows, cupcakes, and mini unicorns onto the monsters, which did a heavy amount of damage. After she was done, she came in for a course landing with her wand facing downward where she unleashed her powerful attack.

"Now here it comes, Ludo: **THERMONUCLEAR BUTTERFLY BLAST!"**

The moment she landed did that attack strike home and cleared out all of the monsters around them. Ludo should have expected this from Star since she is his archenemy, but this was still surprising to him.

Star was dusting herself off as all the monsters vanished into thin air.

"That was a piece of cake, right guys?" Star smiled.

"It helps that we have battled Ludo's monsters for a long time Star," Marco exclaimed.

"Well, that was a pretty accurate battle," Andrew pumped.

"So Ludo, do you have anything left," Star asked the gawking Avarian.

"It doesn't matter how many you send out," Marco got into karate pose. "Keep them coming if you dare."

"That's right Ludo," Andrew cracked his knuckles. "I'm just _warming _up!"

"Then varm up is all you'll get," a voice was heard from behind them as Team Star and Ludo turned to see who that was. That voice belonged to Buff Frog, as he was with Tom and Archibald too. Andrew recognized them and smirked.

"Hey, it's the _Demonstrix_," Andrew greeted in a friendly manner. "Great to see you guys again."

"Wait a minute Andrew, how do you know the Demonstrix?" Star was curious as was Marco.

"Oh, we've hung out a couple of times while you were away for 5 months." Andrew's answer was quick and simple.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Marco commented.

"It has been a while hasn't it," Tom walked up to them first with Archibald and Buff Frog approaching afterwards. "But that's probably because we've been struggling to find some way to benefit the community."

"It has something to do with 'jobs' that vee haven't been able to get," Buff Frog worded while looking directly at Star, who was in part responsible for them not getting any jobs to accept.

Now Star was confused. She had heard about the Demonstrix forming quite some time ago, well over 12 months. She had heard what their purpose was and that it was to show that monsters can do good deeds just like anyone else. Scratching her head, she searched for the appropriate question.

"But wait, you guys are detective agents, right," Star queried. "Don't you show the community that monsters can be good by solving crimes and such?"

"Not vhen you've been solving _them_ all this time!" Buff Frog snapped.

Now Star was feeling guilty _again_. She had no idea that she was depriving the Demonstrix of helping the community and showing the good that can exist in monsters. She thought she was helping people since it would help her get back into things, along with how Ludo had retired from evil. She knew Buff Frog was once Ludo's minion but turned over a new leaf when he got the tadpoles. She knew Tom as her ex-boyfriend but started seeing that he had seriously wanted to change his ways and settle his anger issues and atoning for his actions by helping the community. And while she isn't too familiar with Archibald, she does recall that he once worked as a servant for Eclispa before landing a job as part of the Demonstrix.

Feeling quite ashamed, she rubbed the back of her head and looked at them with a look of regret.

"Gee, I'm sorry you guys…I didn't mean to deprive you of helping the community, honest..." She sincerely apologized.

"Its fine Star," Archibald chirped as he approached her. "It's just so nice to meet you. You're the _coolest _rebel princess I've ever met."

"Come on Archibald," Buff Frog had to grab Archibald so he couldn't do anything crazy. Meanwhile, Tom sighed and knew that they meant no harm, but he had to say what he had to.

"Okay look, it's great to see you again Starship, and you too Marco & Andrew, but we are here on an important mission for our client," Tom told them. "So if you wouldn't mind leaving Ludo to us, we would gladly appreciate it."

_**"WHAT,"**_ Ludo suddenly bellowed, getting the attention of both teams. "WHO IS THIS **CLIENT **THAT YOU ARE REFERRING TO?!"

"Beats us," Archibald shrugged casually. "But we're getting paid handsomely so-"

He never got to finish as Buff Frog clamped his mouth shut. Ludo didn't seem to care about what Archibald almost blurted out. He was too lost in his thoughts to have noticed.

Star had made up her decision; she was going to leave Ludo to the Demonstrix. Taking out her dimension scissors, she motioned Marco and Andrew to follow her.

"Come on guys, we're going to leave Ludo to the Demonstrix," she said.

"You're really going to trust the Demonstrix with this?" Andrew was surprised.

"Of course," Star nodded. "After all, I have deprived them of helping the community for the past five months, and I feel like I'm sorry for them. And to make up for it, I'm going to have them take over where we left off."

"I dunno Star," Marco was feeling doubtful. "You sure they're trustworthy."

"Of course I'm sure Marco, don't be silly," Star explained. "Buff Frog may have been Ludo's minion at one point, but he reformed after getting 12 tadpoles and after we babysat his tadpoles, Buff Frog and I are on the same page and we are on good terms. Then there's Tom who you know is my ex, but to be honest, I really feel like he_ does_ want to change his ways in resolving his anger issues. Plus after the whole Demoncism scenario, I'm willing to believe Tom means well too. And as for Archibald, I don't know him much, but I believe he was once a servant to Eclipsa. That being said, he's also trustworthy too, so we can count on them to deal with Ludo from here."

"That sounds fair enough, _and _considerate," Andrew admitted. "Maybe this will allow us to get some _rest_ for the night before we think of our next course tomorrow."

"Exactly Andrew, now let's go."

"Right behind you Star," Marco was still feeling a little giddy after that kiss Jackie gave him.

Star opened up a dimension portal before she entered it with Marco and Andrew. Tom was the last one to notice them depart and smiled before the portal disappeared, grateful that they were letting the Demonstrix do their job.

* * *

"Ludo," Buff Frog growled in the Avarian's direction. "Vee meet again."

"We certainly have Buff Frog," Ludo zipped around to face the frog monster. "After all, the three of you boys have made quite a mess of this place. I'll accept your apologies and your payment with your _lives._"

"Afraid that von't stop us," Buff Frog huffed. "Bring it on."

"Ready when you are," Tom got into position.

"Let's fight!" Archibald let out a battle cry.

"Oh I look forward to enjoying this," Ludo smirked as Tom gave him a glare.

"We aren't showing you any mercy since you are our clients' worst enemy," Tom was about to charge and land a fire punch on Ludo, but once Ludo snapped his fingers, a wall of stacked up craw monsters came in between them, causing Tom to attack the wall of craw monsters instead. After realizing this, Tom came to a halt before glaring at Ludo once again.

"I suppose you could say that I'm this _client's_ worse enemy," Ludo chortled which got Tom confused.

"You know who our client is?"

Ludo cackled once again before answering. "I think I've got quite an idea on who _it_ is."

Meanwhile, Archibald was fighting alongside Buff Frog against their set of monsters. While Buff Frog was seen bashing monsters with punches and body-slams, Archibald was tackling monsters and biting them. The impact of these attacks left the craw monsters surrounding them knocked out. More Craw monsters came to the scene immediately afterwards.

"Alright, we need to take these bad monsters down," Archibald cried.

"No problem," Buff Frog whistled for Archibald to come to his side, where he picked him up and held him like a gun with his mouth facing the monsters. "Vee got this."

"Yahoo, open fire!"

It was then Buff Frog had Archibald shoot spits of acid at the enemies like he was a gun. The impact left a devastating blow to each of them as they screeched. Tom decided to finish them by throwing flames at them.

"It also helps that Ludo has never bothered to give his monsters fireproof armor," Tom smirked as the monsters he scorched were defeated and they disappeared.

Unfortunately, Tom didn't count on another craw monster to sock him in the back of the head. This was a big mistake since Tom handled the monster with a flame burst. Sadly, once he turned around, there were now 30 monsters surrounding the Demonstrix. Archibald and Buff Frog noticed this too as there were plenty of craw monsters, bat monsters, turtle monsters, and octopus monsters surrounding them.

"I think we might be outnumbered," Tom admitted.

"I can't believe it, it's an endless sea of monsters," Archibald cried.

"Not a problem," Buff Frog protested as he got out that microphone. "Vee can show these monsters how to _face the music._"

"Just as long as you don't say another cheesy _quote_ like that," Tom sighed as he got out that electric guitar. "Let's just get this over with…"

"Yahoo, time for Monster Recital," Archibald got out his marching drum and got ready with his comrades.

Once again, Tom was playing poorly on the electric guitar that he dreads playing to no end while Archibald was banging on the marching drum in a goofy fashion. Suddenly, Buff Frog jumps down with the microphone and blares right into it in such an anonymous manner. It was so obnoxious, that the monsters they were facing couldn't stand that wrenched sound. It got to the point where the monsters exploded from earache as they couldn't take another second of it. Even Ludo found their reception to be horrible, so he decided to take his leave.

Once they were done, they noticed that they defeated the monsters, but they also noticed that they drove Ludo away with their god-awful performance.

"Aw dang it, he got away," Archibald slammed his marching drum onto the ground. "He must not have wanted to stick around for the reception."

"Vell, think about it like this," Buff Frog dusted himself proudly. "Ludo won't harass anyone in Casino Dimension anymore."

"That's quite true," Tom exclaimed. "So anyway, I think it's time we head on out of here and get a good night's rest before we shove off again tomorrow to accomplish the next task our client has for us."

"Good idea," Buff Frog took out his dimension scissors. "Let's go."

"Roger that," Archibald saluted while Buff Frog cut open a dimension portal.

Once it was open, the Demonstrix members entered it and it vanished afterwards as they were planning on continuing their client's assignments tomorrow…

* * *

Ludo was shown trying to fly through the Casino Dimension. First, he was upset that Team Sparkle got away with the yellow Miracle Gemstone. Then Star and her friends showed up to show him a thing or two. And to add insult to injury, Star left Ludo to the Demonstrix and their god-awful recital, where he _almost_ suffered hearing loss.

However, once he saw Nebula appear out of nowhere with a grave serious look in her face, a pleasant smirk crossed the Avarian's face.

"Ludo!" Janna had cried as she arrived with Upsilon beside her.

"Now that I have you, tell me right now Ludo," Nebula got straight to the point. "What was I doing…sleeping in that capsule on that castle, and what about my memory?"

"Your _memory, _hah, what _memory_," Ludo snorted coldly. "You _have no __**past **_to _remember!"_

This resulted in a deadly silence crossing over the dreadful team, and it almost seemed that Janna was more bewildered than Nebula was.

However, Nebula actually mirrored her wide-eyed expression while giving out a hoarse response.

"W-What…"

"No…" Janna had trailed off while examining the gold bracelets in her pocket. "That _can't_ be true. It just _can't_ be…"

If Nebula didn't have a past, then who's to say that the Nebula that was with them wasn't the Nebula that Janna remembers from 5 months ago; the one who sacrificed herself to save the universe?

Ludo continued chortling before he summoned an army of monsters to take out the dreadful team. Things weren't looking good for Nebula as she was gobsmacked and Janna noticed she was becoming less of herself.

"L-Ludo, _wait…" _

"It's no use Nebula," Janna sighed, putting away the gold bracelets. "We _have_ to fight him…"

"But…my…memories…I have _no_ past…then _what_ am _**I**_**_…_?**" Nebula had a blank stare in her eyes. Yet at the same time, she also felt one of everything based on what Ludo just revealed.

"Numerous monster targets detected in the perimeter: preparing to intercept and destroy!" Upsilon jumped in front of them and began to open fire on the monsters.

"Nebula…?" Janna was trying to get her to respond since they had to deal with monsters, but it wasn't working.

Nebula was beginning to have doubts that she even had a former past at all. But if that was the case, then what was the vision that the green Miracle Gemstone about? And what about that blonde girl that she also saw in the Coastal Ruins dimension and the vision? Then there was the name Star Butterfly that sounded important too; was that as _fake_ as the vision she witnessed?

Janna truly didn't know how to help her at this moment as she noticed the monsters gaining on Upsilon.

"There's no time to be unresponsive," Upsilon stated.

Janna gave up as she joined the fray by swinging her hairdryer into several of the monsters while also kicking them down. Because Nebula was unresponsive, Janna and Upsilon had to handle the fighting.

Ludo knew that this team could trounce his monster army just like the three other teams he faced previously. So he decided to up the amply a bit. He summoned even more monsters to take down Team Dread, all consisting of craws, bats, turtles, and octopus monsters. In a matter of minutes, he had summoned 40, no, _50_ monsters in all to slow down their progress.

By this point, this was becoming too much for the Filipino and the killer robot. Upsilon was finding himself outnumbered pretty quickly, and Janna didn't stand a chance against all the monsters surrounding them. She found herself punched and whacked by the craw monsters as she hid behind Upsilon. Of course, that wouldn't be able to hold off much longer since Upsilon could only handle so many monsters at once. With one last hope of desperation, Janna then turned to where Nebula _was_ standing one last time to help them…only to see that she was _gone_.

"Nebula…?"

With a sudden boom, everyone turned their attention to Nebula, who had prepped up a spell with her wand that encased her into a purple ball of energy, essentially turning her into a purple comet. Suddenly, Nebula charged and rammed through every single monster that was in her path, showing no signs of mercy in the slightest. One by one, the monsters fell and if Janna didn't jump out of the way, she would have been hit too.

Janna, Upsilon and even Ludo had to gawk at the sight of Nebula take out all of Ludo's monsters. After a while, Nebula got sick of ramming into the monsters so she came to a halt, only to get onto a stand. Wanting to put an end to these monsters once and for all, she took out her Miracle Gemstone and started drawing off the _negative_ energy from it.

Something bad was about to go down. Even Upsilon could detect it with his sensors.

"Scanners have detected a rather unsettling mass of energy, indicating something _disastrous _is about to happen."

"I think your right Upsilon," Janna yelped as she had to duck and cover.

Ludo and his remaining monsters would have chosen this moment to retreat, but Ludo wanted to know what kind of power Nebula had tapped into. As if he didn't already know.

Then just like before, Nebula's eyes, cheek marks and gem on her skirt flashed a bright red as that red energy ended up engulfing the entire area, and before she knew it, Nebula had unleashed an aggressive explosion upon everyone but Janna, Upsilon and Ludo who had gotten out of the way. Every single one of the monsters on the field was wiped out and vanished without a trace. Of course, this also caused a loud screech to occur after the fact, getting Janna to shield her ears.

"I have no ears, and even I admit that that still upsets me."

"What a bunch of worthless bags of flesh…" Nebula sneered as she slowly went back to normal. But normal wasn't exactly the right word for the situation, for this was only the beginning of the abnormal for her.

"An army of monstrous subjects: destroyed!" Upsilon had to blurt out.

Of course, Nebula glared at Ludo which caused him to cringe and slowly had his bat monster back away a few feet. Nebula then turned to look at Janna and Upsilon, and Janna had wide eyes by what she had just witnessed.

Nebula then did a double check of what she did before blinking, taking in the destruction she caused from such a feat.

"Perhaps…it's true…perhaps I have nothing to remember…my quest with finding out the truth is futile…and I really am _destructive_…"

Without another word, Nebula stormed off towards a part of the Casino Dimension. Janna was about to go after her but was halted when she saw Ludo take his leave with the dimension scissors in his hands.

"Well now, now that that display is over, I believe our time is up," Ludo cut open a dimension portal with his scissors. "I'll see you again soon."

"Ludo, you're going to pay for this, one way or another," Janna sneered, curling her hand into a fist and shaking it. "I know you lied, I know your lying, and you have to be lying when you said that Nebula has no past!"

But it was all for naught, since Ludo entered the portal and it vanished shortly afterwards. Janna had to know that the Nebula she found in his castle had a past. Ludo was known for being devious and only said that to mess with Nebula's mind and throw her off.

Regardless, it was clear that Nebula was struggling with conflict at this moment. It was going to take a lot to convince her to get her back on track. While looking at the stars in the night sky, she had only one course of action that _she _was going to take, and it was a_ risky_ one at that.

"I **need** to _find_ Star Butterfly."

As soon as Janna and Upsilon found Nebula and got her back with them, Janna goes and cuts open a dimension portal for the three of them to enter. Nebula wastes no time in storming by as she went without a word. Upsilon entered the portal afterwards and Janna entered it last. It was decided that they rest up for the night (at least for Janna since Upsilon is a robot and Nebula is in conflict and doubt about her past) before they shove off through the next dimension tomorrow, as the portal they entered disappeared afterward…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 9!**

**YUP, I THINK I HANDLED THIS CHAPTER QUITE WELL! THINGS ARE STARTING TO HEAT UP NOW! **

**AS I SAID BEFORE, I LIKE WRITING THE PARTS WHERE THE DIFFERENT TEAMS INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER! IT BRINGS OUTS A LOT OF EXCITEMENT TOO! SOME OF THE LATER CHAPTERS WILL HAVE ALL 12 HEROES INTERACT TOGETHER! I HOPE YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THAT!**

**ANYWAY, WITH THAT SAID, YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU LIKE, AND YOU CAN WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	11. Canyon Dimension I

**CHAPTER 10-CANYON DIMENSION I:**

* * *

The following morning came, and the focus was on a different dimension. This dimension was made up of a bunch of canyons and rocky cliffs. There was also a valley down below as well as some cannons in the distance. This dimension was mainly made up of rails that have to grind on to get by, but that didn't mean that there wasn't solid ground. There were also parts that looked like a train station equivalent to the Wild West.

As it seems, Team Star was the first to have arrived in the dimension as the three of them were grinding on the rails, with Andrew making sure he doesn't lose his hat. They decided to use the speed from grinding on it to pick up the pace before time was up. To double check, Star had to make sure how much time was left.

"Hey, Marco, how much time do we have left before Ludo conquers the universe?" She asked.

"We only got until the night after tomorrow!" Marco called out from the other rail.

"Then we must pick up the pace," Star looked determined. "Marco and Andrew, make sure to give it all you got; full speed ahead!"

"Okay Star," the Latino accepted.

"We got this Star," Andrew assured.

With that said and done the three of them boosted down these rails while embracing the beginning of the second day…

* * *

Team Dread was the second team to have arrived in this dimension and they were also grinding on the rails, much to Upsilon's dismay. Things were still a little shaken up after the encounter they had with Ludo last night. Fortunately, Upsilon detected Ludo activity in the distance and informed his teammates about this.

"I've detected some Ludo activity coming in the distance," Upsilon informed. "His hideout in this dimension is just beyond these canyons."

"I wonder what Ludo meant by when he said that last night," Janna muttered, still focused on the incident last night. This was something that she could fret about while they were heading to Ludo's hideout, along with how Nebula was going to handle all of this.

"Well we got to hunt him down first, let's speed up." Nebula exclaimed as he overheard what Janna said. Unlike Janna, Nebula made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to talk about what Ludo said to her last night.

"I still find grinding on the rails to be quite preposterous," Upsilon confessed. "But considering the circumstances, I'm afraid this is one occasion where it is absolutely necessary."

"Exactly Upsilon," Janna grinned. "Now let's move out."

Nebula only gave a simple nod before they speed off on the rails in hopes of getting to Ludo's hideout…

* * *

Team Sparkle arrived in the dimension next, also grinding on the rails. Although because Pony Head didn't have legs, she had to float over one of the rails and keep up while Daron and Jackie were showing grinding on the rails. They seemed to be in good spirits despite having to leave Star and her friends to take care of Ludo like that.

"Hey gurls, I need to admit this, but I'm quite confident that mah medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace is somewhere in this dimension," Pony Head spoke up. "And I'm guessing that it's in one of Ludo's hideouts just past these canyons!"

"Well I'm glad you're looking on the greater side of this dudette,' Jackie remarked.

"Okay girls, since that's the case, let's get going!" Daron also seemed to be in a good mood.

"Wow Daron," Pony Head took notice of this. "You seem to be in a good mood, considering how we had to leave B-Fly and her friends last night."

"I am, and because of that I am also more focused on getting your stuff back," Daron responded. "We were in danger because Ludo had the upper hand against us, but Star and her friends came at the last minute to rescue us."

"Yeah, that Andrew dude seemed kind of cool with how he handled that octopus dude," Pony Head had to admit.

Jackie didn't need to say anything; her smirk was enough to show that she appreciated how Marco saved her the way he did.

"I really didn't want to leave them, but I suppose it was for the best," Daron nodded. "Next time though, I'm not giving up, and I will show Ludo what happens when he messes with us girls! We won't let him get away with this!"

"Darn right, that's telling him, girlfriend," Pony Head seemed impressed.

"Well dudettes, let's get going if we want to show Ludo what for," Jackie informed them. "He thinks he can push us like that and get away with it, he has another thing coming."

"Exactly Jackie, now let's go." Daron smiled.

"We're way ahead of you Daron," Pony Head exclaimed.

The three of them continued down the rails to head to Ludo's base, as Jackie was in quite a good mood after how Marco rescued her and how she kissed him on the lips before leaving Team Star last night…

* * *

The Demonstrix members were the last to show up in the dimension as they had noticed that Ludo's hideout was in the center of this area just past the canyons. What seemed amazing was how Buff Frog was able to grind on the rails despite not having any shoes on.

'Vow, that must be Ludo's new hideout just past these canyons," Buff Frog pointed in the distance.

"Yes, and by the looks of it, there are plenty of monsters here that are acting as security," Tom warned. "So be sure not to let your guard down."

"Vell that's just how vee like it," Buff Frog smirked.

"Yeah, we got this covered," Archibald ensured them.

"Very well guys," Tom took out the talkie and got a hold of the client. "Okay client, we've arrived in the canyon dimension as instructed. So tell us what our next mission is."

"Right, here is your next mission," the client started. "You'll have to infiltrate the terminal station that's located in Ludo's hideout just past those canyons. I must warn you that this is a difficult mission."

"Uh, how is this mission _difficult_ if I may ask," Buff Frog was curious.

"Well uh, it's difficult because...along the way, you boys will have to take a detour around the canyons that will lead to an alternate path towards the station you need to get to." The client had to inform them.

"And just what is this detour if I may ask," Tom raised an eyebrow.

"You'll find out what the detour is when you see it for yourselves," the client quickly said. "Now get moving, because there's no time to waste."

"Roger that," Tom hung up the talkie and pocketed it again.

"There's something that I don't get," Archibald wondered. "This entire dimension is a part of Ludo's new hideout isn't it?"

"It would appear so," the demon simply answered.

"So how do we know which part of the hideout is where we need to head?" The gargoyle questioned.

"I guess we'll have to find out for ourselves," Tom rubbed his chin. "After all, Ludo can only be in one place at a time, correct?"

"That vould be most logical explanation," Buff Frog assumed. "Now let's get to this terminal station and find out what this detour is."

"We're on it," the demon and the gargoyle said in unison as they grind down the rails to infiltrate the terminal station that they had to get to…

* * *

"Woohoo, look at the view in front of us guys," Star was amazed by the canyons that were in front of them. "Isn't it magnificent?!"

"I must say Star, look at all those canyons," Marco gawked. "They look like a strong reminder of the Grand Canyon!"

"Regardless, be sure to keep your eyes on the rails you two," Andrew warned. "That means _**you**_ Star!"

"Oh come on Andrew, I can handle this," Star brushed off his warning. "Besides, when have I not been focused on the rails?"

Before Andrew could explain, a cannonball was shot from one of the cannons in the distance and it hit her in the face. Luckily, she remained on the rail and shook her head after that impact.

"You were_ saying_ Star," Andrew asked with a smirk on his face.

"Oh don't start Andrew," Star scoffed. "That was just a moment of weakness."

"Sure it was," Andrew rolled his eyes and admired the canyons. Sure his island had plenty of canyons in the mountain parts of his island, but these ones looked impressive. "There's also a tale I've heard that told of people whose lives ended in tragedy after falling off of one of these canyons in the valley."

"Well, how would you know," Star retorted. "Most of the time you're on your island alone when you're not exploring dimensions for ancient relics."

"I have my ways Star," Andrew insisted.

"What are your ways exactly Andrew, besides being a treasure hunter?"

"Hey guys, I hate to interrupt your discussion, but we are about to reach solid ground ahead," Marco pointed ahead of them. "And by the looks of it, we have a couple of monsters to deal with!"

Star and Andrew looked nearby and saw a couple of monsters to deal with as the three of them jumped off the rail and got into battle positions. There were only 3 craw monsters though, and they were easily taken care of: Star used a rainbow fist punch on one, Marco used a karate chop on another, and Andrew took out the last one with a simple uppercut.

"So with that set," Star dusted her hands. "How does one get around this place anyway?"

"Well judging by the abundance of rails surrounding the area, it looks like we have to grind on those to get by," the karate expert pointed. "Aside from that and how we have to get past these canyons, it looks like we have to use our instincts to track down Ludo's new hideout."

"In that case, we'll get lost in this dimension for sure," the treasure hunter groaned. "Because based on how we followed Star's instincts, she has dragged us onto the most thrilling method to us, and with all these rails, she'll use that to have us get to an Avarian's hideout."

"Well then, Andrew," the princess of Mewni insisted. "Your guess would be correct, and we should take these rails since they _are_ exhilarating."

"Wow, I never thought you had heard of the word _exhilarating_ before." Andrew was quite perplexed.

"Listen, guys, can we head to Ludo's hideout," Marco got them back on track. "We are supposed to beat him to his hideout, and by the looks of it, he could catch up to us at any minute!"

Without another word, Team Star jumped onto the next set of rails and grind on them to continue getting by these canyons…

* * *

Nebula was shown grinding on the rails in an effective manner just like she did yesterday, while Janna and Upsilon weren't so fortunate with doing so, especially the latter since he derided this kind of sport.

Janna knew why Nebula was so good at this, considering how she had to grind on the rails in the haunted mountain dimension during the day in order to catch up to the plane that Star, Marco, Andrew, and Daron were flying in, as well as that fight that she had with Star on the Space Colony GOD.

"Not that _she _remembers…" Janna muttered softly so no one could hear her.

It was upsetting though; since there were so many admirable feats that Nebula possessed and was unable to remember a good portion of them. This ranged from stealing a Miracle Gemstone from the Federal Bank in Echo Creek, breaking away from the pursuing cops, blowing up Jail Island and making a daring rescue for the Filipino.

Of course, that was all _before_ she became a hero where she sacrificed her own life to save the universe. This was the memory that Janna had to cherish most of all, even more so than she had cherished the moment Nebula saved her life.

For Nebula's sake, she was determined that the memories would live on through her, and through Star, if she could find her. If she never recovered her memories, then that was going to be the case, if she had any memories to regain that is.

This was killing Janna to figure out what that possibly meant, as the dreadful team kept grinding down the rails…

* * *

"Hey you know something, we are really _high_ up," Daron commented as they saw the valley right below them. "This place could be easily compared to the Grand Canyon!"

"I know," Pony Head cheered in agreement. "It feels like we could be Queens of the Canyons!"

"This is pretty radical if you think about it," Jackie was enjoying this sport. "We are epic with how we are grinding on these rails."

Daron nodded as something else crossed her mind; how was Jackie able to effectively grind on these rails. She knew that the girl was an excellent skateboard, but she didn't expect her to be as excellent with rail grinding as she was with skateboarding.

"Hey Jackie," Daron got her attention. "How are you so good with grinding on these rails?"

"Oh Daron, if you must know, the reason I'm good with this is all those years of practicing with skateboarding have really paid off," the skateboarder girl answered. "To put it simply, grinding on these rails is as easy as riding a skateboard."

To prove her point, Jackie jumped from one rail to another with ease as she kept grinding effective. Daron and Pony Head followed suit as they were able to keep up with her.

"Hey Jackie," Pony Head felt like asking. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been skateboarding?"

"Hmm, well if I were to give you a simple answer, I'd say that I have been skateboarding since I was at a young age," Jackie was grinning while saying this. "I was only 7 when I started, and after a couple of years with practicing, I quickly became a pro with it and that's how I became effective with it."

"Wow gurl, that must have been awesome," Pony Head remarked as Daron nodded her head in agreement.

"It sure was," Jackie nodded as she continued to grind. It was clear that she was in a good mood this morning.

"Wow Jackie, you are also in a good mood today," Daron smiled. "Considering we had to leave Team Star the way we did last night. Does this have something to do with you kissing Marco on the mouth as thanks for saving you?"

"Oh, uh…" Jackie found herself blushing when asked that.

"Don't think I didn't notice _that_ kiss," Daron smirked. "That was a very _cute_ gesture."

"Uh, I know. T-Thank Daron," Jackie found herself flustered.

"Alright gurls, we should probably press forward," Pony Head directed. "My medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace aren't going to find themselves."

"Good idea Pony Head," Jackie got back on track. "Let's get going."

"Way ahead of you girls," Daron was all for it as they kept grinding on the rails for quite a bit of time…

* * *

"Hey uh, Buff Frog, if you don't mind me asking," Tom had decided to ask the frog monster. "How are you able to grind on these rails?"

"Uh, I'd say it's just some natural habit, I guess," Buff Frog shrugged. "I dunno for sure."

"Yeah, I don't really need to grind on these rails," Archibald beamed. "Well, considering I can just fly over the rail that I'm going over."

"We know Archibald," Tom sighed as something else came to his mind. "So Buff Frog, there's something else that I'd like to talk with you about."

"Yes, vat is it comrade Tom?" Buff Frog seemed curious.

"That was quite an invigorating battle we had with Ludo last night, wasn't it?"

"Technically, vee didn't face Ludo," Buff Frog pointed out. "Vee faced his army of monsters."

"Yeah, and it was sure nice of Star and her friends to allow us to take care of him," Archibald remarked excitedly. "She was so cool about having us do our job too!"

"She even apologized to us for depriving us of some work for the community for the past five months," the demon exclaimed.

Buff Frog could only shake his head and groan.

"Vell, if only she hadn't deprived us of vork in first place," Buff Frog grumbled.

"But Buff Frog, you shouldn't act like you should hold a grudge against her, because she _is_ amazing," Archibald used his sharp memory of what Star has done. "To start, Star had constantly prevented Ludo and his monsters from stealing her wand, ended up taking down Toffee the first time when he kidnapped Marco after he overtook Ludo's castle when you got fired, and you decided to aid her when you became a father. Not to mention the time where she took down Toffee again when he was possessing Ludo's body, restored all the magic in the universe, and then there was the time she took down Meteora 9 months ago!"

"And let's not forget that Star managed to go to the space dimension, take down the prototype of the ultimate life and saved the universe," Tom mentioned. "Then, of course, there was how she made you the Monster Expert in an attempt to bury the hatchet between Mewman and monsters."

Buff Frog had to take this in for a minute and realize that they were right. Star had some good intentions with the stuff that she did, even if she could get crazy with how she handles it at times. He shouldn't let how she deprived them of finding jobs to help the community spoil the good terms that he had with the princess of Mewni. Letting out a simple sigh, he frowned.

"Okay I'll admit, you boys make good point," Buff Frog had to admit. "Star is a pretty good girl who has good intentions in spite of her crazy quirks. I don't think I should stay mad at her, considering vat she's done like one time vhere she babysat my 12 tadpoles vith karate boy Marco, and then there vas one time I allowed her and Queen Moon to stay at my home when Toffee returned, and like you said comrade Tom, she appointed me Monster Expert to patch things up between Mewman and monsters."

"Exactly Buff Frog," Tom grinned. "And that's why we shouldn't let what she did keep us from being on good terms with her."

"I guess your right Tom," Buff Frog smiled lightly.

"After all, she can be reasonable and serious when it comes to it deep down," Tom explained. "Not only is she a friendly and perky girl, but I really _like _how she constantly changes the rules with every game she plays, only to stop and change them all over again. That is _why_ I had taken part in a relationship with Starship in the first place."

"Yeah," Archibald assured him. "Star Butterfly is the coolest rebel princess that I've ever met!"

"I suppose so," Buff Frog sighed. "I guess it'd be time to bury hatchet with Star after all that."

"Of course, now let's continue to the terminal base," Tom suggested.

"Very vell."

So the Demonstrix continued their trek through the canyon dimension to make it to the terminal station where Ludo's hideout is supposed to be…

* * *

"So Marco," Andrew asked. "How much sleep did you get last night?"

The treasure hunter noticed the karate boy was zoning out a couple of times so he had to make sure.

"I only got 6 hours of sleep, because I couldn't go to sleep," he admitted. "I was just so _excited_ after what happened."

"Would this have anything to do with the _kiss _that Jackie gave to you on the mouth?" Andrew started to grow a smirk.

"Uh, uh…" Marco was now flustered as he tried to turn away. "M-Maybe…?"

"Oh it's no problem, Marco," Andrew assured. "I think you're lucky to have a girl like Jackie."

"You don't even know how _lucky_ I am," Marco smiled lightly.

"Hey guys," Star got their attention. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the rails are all messed up, and I found this glowing circle thing that is red!"

"That's a switch Star," Marco informed. "From the looks of it, they work just like the switches on train tracks work."

"Awesome, let's try it out!" Star proceeded to touch the switch.

"Doesn't look like we have a choice," Andrew muttered as she touched a switch.

Then as expected, the rails changed in a different direction as they continued to grind across the rails. Star noticed that Marco was easily grinding on these rails the way he was.

"Hey Marco," she queried. "How are you feeling with grinding on these rails?"

"Well Star, I've been getting acquainted with these since the city dimension," he spoke honestly. "And to be honest, I'm kinda getting the hang of this sport."

"Being around Jackie a lot must have taught you to enjoy this kind of stuff," Star exclaimed.

"And being around you a lot has convinced him how to have fun the way _you_ do," Andrew grumbled.

"Like how he can get a thrill from grinding, yes," Star whooped. "Grinding on rails is one of the _best_ things I've ever done!"

"I'll admit, this is the quickest way to get around," Andrew frowned. "But I'm not in this for the fun Star."

"Oh don't be a _party pooper, _Andrew." Star sassed.

"At least I wasn't the one who got hit in the face with a cannonball," Andrew countered.

"Well…" Star searched for a retort when she found one. "Be sure not to fall off the rail Andrew!"

"Like _that's_ going to happen since I can easily glide and climb back up to where I should be!"

Suddenly, Star had burst into laughter as he finished that sentence as Andrew shook his head. As they grind ahead, Marco shook his head but he didn't frown.

He smirked at what he was seeing…

* * *

"I have to admit, this place has quite an engineering feat," Nebula admired her surroundings.

"It's amazing," Janna agreed. "This place looks like a combination of the Grand Canyon and the Wild West with all the train stations in the distance and some cannons too."

"Warning: we are heading for the first terminal," Upsilon informed them as Nebula got ready.

In a swift effort, Nebula jumped off the rail and back flipped onto the ground with no problem. Janna and Upsilon got off shortly afterwards as they then saw that they got some company.

"Hey guys," the Filipino pointed. "We got some company."

"Company, all that's ahead of us is a monster and some friends to join it," Nebula stated as Janna muttered something under her breath.

With no warning, Nebula charged and fired a dark purple lightning spear at one of the monsters which took it out. Upsilon joined in no sooner than that.

"Ludo's minions must be terminated!" Upsilon opened fire on the monsters as Nebula aided her in taking them out too.

Rolling her eyes, Janna decided to handle a stray craw monster that Nebula and Upsilon seemed to disregard. She delivered a kick to its chest before swinging her hairdryer across its face, leaving a strong enough impact to get the monster to fall off and plummet down towards the valley, having been defeated.

Janna was about to brag about that, but then she noticed that the monsters were gone, and so were Nebula and Upsilon. Getting a little irritated, she gritted her teeth.

"Do I have to put those _two _on a leash," she gritted. "It's like I'll have to treat them like Cerberus!"

Letting a sigh escape her lips, Janna rushed off to locate her two teammates that left her behind…

* * *

"Hey gurls, we're about to reach solid ground right ahead of us," Pony Head warned her teammates.

Team Sparkle had effectively gotten off the rail and made it onto the ground. They noticed that the area they were standing on looked like it could be part of a train station.

"Is it just me, or does this area remind me of a train station," Daron mused. "To be specific, I'm talking about the ones that existed in the Wild West?"

"I don't think it's you at all Daron," Jackie took in her surrounds as well. "This place does have a bit of an oldie feeling to it."

"Hey gurls, we got monsters on our hands!" Pony Head yelled out as a couple of monsters stood in their path.

"No worries, we got this covered," Daron got out her fake wand and was preparing to attack, with Pony Head and Jackie joining her.

Daron smacked one of the craw monsters on the side of the head with her weapon, just in time for Pony Head to jab her horn into another craw monster. Jackie had karate chopped one of the monsters before tossing it onto the other monsters. After Pony Head zapped them with her magical horn, the remaining monsters were taken care of when they were pushed off the edge and plummeted down to the valley below.

"See, we are like pros at this," Daron put her fake wand away. "The more we've practiced this, the better we get with fighting off these monsters."

"Exactly Daron, it's like learning how to ride a skateboard," said Jackie.

"We were pretty awesome weren't we," Pony Head smiled. "Let's continue onward."

With no words uttered by any of them, they continued their trek through the canyons…

* * *

"Wow guys, this place does look like an excellent hideout," Tom admitted. "You know, it kind of looks like a train station."

"Yeah, I'm in the mood to ride a train right about now," Archibald expressed.

"I recommend you shouldn't Archibald," Buff Frog shook his head. "Anyway Tom, how d'you know vat train stations look like? Do they have trains vhere you came from?"

"Sure they do, but they are different from engineered trains," Tom huffed. "Where I came from, we call them _demon trains_, and they are steered by dead unicorn skeletons with flames for manes."

"That sounds like the chariot that you ride in," Archibald said.

"I know."

"Anyway, I have to vonder how Ludo got all the funding to build hideout such as this?" Buff Frog was perplexed.

"Perhaps Ludo used all the money he gambled up from the Casino Dimension to have this place constructed," the demon took a slight guess at what he assumed was accurate.

"Hmmm, that's not far from truth, since it seems quite accurate," Buff Frog seemed to understand what Tom was saying.

"Yeah, I have to agree," the gargoyle said.

They then continued to grind on the rails. While they were doing that, something else crossed Buff Frog's mind; the identity of their client.

Where exactly was the client calling them from? How did they always know where they were going or where they had to go, and what was going on, aside from the fact that Tom usually informed them? Those were a few exceptions though.

And what's scratching out the possibility that their client is really a girl?

Noticing how their client had a male-like voice, Buff Frog scratched that last thought out as he recalled facing Ludo last night. Not only did he react when Tom brought up the client, but he also admitted to having a clear idea about who the client is. This was extra bewildering, considering that they had hardly any leads about their client's identity.

_That makes all the more reason to hunt down Ludo. _Buff Frog grunted in his mind.

With that in mind, Buff Frog joined his comrades as they continued to head to the terminal station that was their designated location…

* * *

"Look out guys, the rails that are ahead of us have been demolished!" Marco warned his teammates as the rails ahead of them were in fact, demolished by a couple of miniature bull train monsters with two wheels underneath that had committed the deed.

"I guess they're _pulling out_ all the tricks," Andrew remarked.

"No problem, we can make it by," Star beamed.

"Uh guys, you wouldn't let me fall off the rails, would you?" Marco questioned with concern.

"Of course not Marco," Star assured. "We know you can't fly and we wouldn't let you plummet to your death."

Andrew was about to give his input when he hit one of the switches that caused them to get onto a different set of rails.

"Was that a switch _I_ just activated?" Andrew was puzzled.

"Yup," the Latino nodded. "And we made it to safety since we are on another set of rails."

"All the more exhilarating for us, let's roll," Star chirped.

They went down the rails while feeling the exhilaration from grinding on the rails…

* * *

Janna had eventually caught up to Nebula and Upsilon thanks to the speed she was making on the rails. Upsilon actually apologized to her since he assumed that she was already with them.

"Wow Upsilon, you actually _apologized_," Janna showed her impression with that. "Is there anything _you'd_ like to say Nebula?"

"Yes, the rails ahead of us are out." Nebula blandly said.

Janna had to lean over Upsilon to see this for herself, and it turns out she was right.

"OH MY GOODNESS, why are we even _riding_ on it," Janna cried out.

"Not a problem, I can get by."

Nebula wasted no time in jumping off the rails and flying for a few minutes before landing on the rail below. Janna and Upsilon had to jump after her onto the lower rails, with Upsilon having to aid Janna in making sure she doesn't fall down towards the valley below. In a matter of seconds, the three of them were now resuming their grinding. Nebula was just ahead of her so the Filipino sped up before tapping the dark girl on the shoulder.

"What is it?"

"The rail that we're grinding on currently, how did you know it was there?" The question was bugging the nightmare loving girl.

"I _didn't_," she simply answered.

Before Janna could question her further, Nebula _sped _off ahead of her, not saying another word…

* * *

After traveling on foot for a bit, Team Star had gotten onto a new set of rails which they grind on some more. After a while, some extra rails came up and they saw some of those mini bull train monsters riding on them.

"Hey, those monsters look like miniature bull-shaped trains," the karate expert exclaimed.

"You monsters _want_ to race," Star had a daring look on her face.

"How could you think about _racing_ these monsters at a time like this?" Andrew was a little ticked that she'd think about racing them.

"Like _this_," the Mewni princess sped off on the rails and engaged in a race against the bull train monsters, as Marco and Andrew had to keep up with her. It didn't take long to reach the end of the rails and while Star jumped to the lower rail, the monsters on the other rails ended up falling off and plummeting downwards. As her partners joined her on the lower rails, she shook her head.

"That was hardly even challenging," she said.

"Well they aren't the only things we need to worry about," Andrew caught sight of some bigger more ferocious trains ahead. "Look at what we need to deal with now."

"Whoa, what's up with those bigger trains," Star raised an eyebrow.

"I dunno, but I don't think we should stick around to find out, because they're coming right in our direction!" Marco gasped.

"We'll have to get out of harm's way if we have hopes of dodging those trains," Andrew ordered.

"We're not going to get hit," Star remained confident. "I'm sure of it."

Seconds later, one of those big trains came right for them which nearly impaled Star right in the face. Without thinking, she yelped and zipped out of the way while grabbing Marco and Andrew. They ended up on a separate rail when they managed to outrun the rest of those bigger monstrous trains. No sooner later did they end up back on the ground where they started walking again.

"So you were saying Star," Andrew quirked as they approached a cannon.

"…did I mention how beautiful the canyon looks from this distance?" She asked as they used the cannon to go upward.

"Yes, yes you did."

The cannon fired and shot them up to the higher platform above…

* * *

"Mmmm Upsilon," Janna trailed in a bored tone as she leaned on the robot's shoulder.

"May I recommend not doing that," Upsilon told her. "It's pretty difficult to balance on this thing as it is, I don't need it to be more challenging."

"Sorry," Janna muttered as she started to move away. However, Upsilon noticed something was up with her and stopped her.

"Hold on a minute, my sensors have detected that there's something troubling you internally."

"Thanks for picking up on it," Janna grumbled as she plopped back into her regular position.

"Would this happen to be about Nebula, as it _has_ been since we started?"

"Yes, what am I suppose to say to her? That she does have a memory and the fact Ludo says she didn't prove there's something wrong?"

"How do you know that she has memories? Perhaps Ludo might have a-"

"I know she has them," Janna cut him off. "I know because somewhere in those memories, I'm in them."

Upsilon went silent for a moment or so to process what Janna just revealed.

"So you're implying that you've known Nebula, before all of this?

"Please don't tell her," Janna begged. "I didn't want to tell her before because she wouldn't have believed me, and I didn't think that Ludo would lie about her memory…or tell the truth about what he did to them or whatever."

"You are going to reveal this to her eventually, yes?"

"I'd like to, but what if it really is for nothing? What if she doesn't have anything to remember? What if…" Janna paused for a moment while coming _this close_ to choking on her words. "What if that's not the same Nebula I remembered? What if she's a…"

She couldn't finish as she looked ahead at Nebula, who was grinding ahead of them and was oblivious to the conversation she was having with Upsilon.

"The decision is not up to me," Upsilon spoke as he jumped down onto the solid ground. "This is a course of action that you must take yourself, and it has to be by your choice alone. Therefore, you'll have to be ready to pay for whatever consequence that could occur from it."

"I know that," Janna jumped down and landed on the ground below her. "I'm not going to tell her just yet. There's still one more thing that I'd like to try before I can tell her, if at all…"

She just hopes that she'll be able to get the chance for the _right encounter_, as she followed her teammates…

* * *

As Star and Andrew found themselves to be in a pickle with some monsters that ambushed them, Marco had come in and performed his karate moves on them and easily disposed of them. The Latino had finished taking out the last monster before dusting his hands.

"Well, that takes care of that," he said proudly.

"Wow Marco, I never get tired of watching your karate moves," Star was amazed.

"I agree," Andrew smiled. "You did a good job with your performance."

"Thanks for that you guys," Marco then insisted. "Now shall we press forward by grinding on the rails in front of us?"

"Sure thing Marco," Star gleamed. "Let's go, Andrew!"

"Sounds fine by me," Andrew shrugged.

The three of them started to grind on more rails in front of them as they had jumped consecutively from rail to rail when it was necessary.

While they were doing that, something came to Andrew's mind after watching the karate display that he saw back there. Everything has a beginning and origin, including Marco's interest in karate, so how did Marco get into karate in the first place? This was something that was sparking his interest as he needed to know. As such, Andrew cleared his throat and got Marco's attention.

"Excuse me, Marco?"

"What's up, Andrew?" Marco was curious.

"I hope you don't mind me asking this, but after that karate display, I'd like to know; how did you get into karate in the first place?"

Star had heard that question as Marco took that in. Star found herself jumping in too.

"Yeah Marco," Star's curiosity perked up. "In the past 2 years that I've gotten to know you, that is one thing I never found out about you: how you got into karate."

Marco looked at them thoughtfully and felt that maybe this was the best time for it to finally surface.

"Well you two, if you must know, I had started to learn karate when I was in 3rd grade," Marco started. "I was only 8 at the time."

"Lemme guess Marco," Star had a daring look in her eyes. "You learned karate so you could impress Jackie, right?"

"Well yes Star, but there's more to it than just impressing Jackie," he continued. "You see, it was 8 years ago."

"Do we have to witness a flashback," Andrew questioned.

"Sure if you guys like."

"Yes, yes, I want to see a flashback!" Star cheered for a flashback.

"Very well then, let's do the flashback."

* * *

_A flashback from eight years ago occurred when Marco was only 8 and was playing on the swings during school recess. _

**"**_**Now as I was saying, it was eight years ago, and as Star pointed out, it was partially to impress Jackie, but there's more to it than just that," **__Marco spoke over the flashback. __**"I was playing on the swings during recess when I had noticed something happening nearby."**_

_The 8-year-old Marco witnessed a bully pour some gooey slime on a younger Jackie's head and then grabbed her head and pushed her into the ground, where she got a dirty face and she looked upset. The younger Marco saw Jackie being bullied and looked sad as Jackie had some teary eyes. Noticing the bully was laughing, Marco had to do something, but he couldn't since he was unable to fight back…yet._

**"**_**That's right," **__present day Marco spoke over the flashback again. __**"My whole motivation of wanting to learn karate was to drive that bully off and help Jackie!" **_

**"**_**So how did you find out about karate?" **__Andrew spoke over the flashback._

**"**_**I'm getting to that. So anyway, I was at home while reading some of my comics, when suddenly, I had learned about karate from one of the advertising pages."**_

_The younger Marco saw the advertising to learn about karate which seemed like the perfect opportunity to help Jackie from that bully. So with permission from his parents who looked amazingly younger (not that they aren't good looking currently) and they allowed Marco to sign up for karate lessons. _

**"**_**So I took up karate lessons which involved countless weeks of practicing and learning the basics from it," **__present day Marco spoke in the flashback as a montage was shown featuring the 8-year-old Marco learning karate from who appears to be a younger version of Sensei Brantley. __**"It took several weeks of practice but it was all worth it when I was finally ready to show that bully off and drive him away from Jackie."**_

_With a determined look on his face, the 8-year-old Marco was at school recess once again and saw that bully pick on Jackie once again which got him ready._

**"**_**Oh, oh, so this is where you took care of that bully and saved Jackie!" **__Star was heard over the flashback._

**"**_**Exactly Star and it was this moment that I would never forget from that point onward."**_

_The eight-year-old got the bully's attention by jeering out at him, which got the bully to be furious. As the bully was charging at him for a punch, Marco just stood there confidently. Suddenly, he jumped out of the way and landed a kick right onto the bully's back, which got the bully surprised. Despite this, the bully aimed another punch for him, only for Marco to grab his fist before delivering his first karate chop to the face. Kicking the bully with his shin, the 8-year-old Marco tossed him over onto his back and the bully was knocked out. _

**"**_**Wow, so you showed that bully who he was messing with, right?" **__Andrew was heard._

**"**_**That would be right Andrew," **__present day Marco spoke as his 8-year-old self dusted his hands off while the younger Jackie had witnessed the whole thing. __**"So I guess you could say that Jackie spoke to me after that, but because I was still shy, I didn't say anything back."**_

"_Wow, those were some impressive moves," the younger Jackie remarked. "Was that karate that you did?"_

_The younger Marco only nodded sheepishly, too shy to say anything as the younger Jackie recognized him._

"_Hey, you're Marco aren't you?" She asked._

_Again, a simple nod came from the 8-year-old._

"_Well, I should thank you for helping me," she sincerely said._

_Some more nodding came from Marco who couldn't speak._

"_Okay, I should be going now," the younger Jackie got onto her skateboard, which she was still practicing. "I'll see you later Marco."_

_She then skateboarded off as the younger Marco watched her leave. He then felt a churn of success flow through him._

**"**_**So there you have it, I showed that bully who was boss, helped Jackie and I learned karate," **__present day Marco wrapped up as the flashback came to an end. __**"Ever since that day, I kept practicing karate and I had only gotten better as the years went by."**_

* * *

It was then the flashback concluded as Marco had finished his explanation, and by the looks on their faces, Star and Andrew were amazed by how he learned karate like that.

"Wow Marco, that was definitely an experience," Andrew smiled.

"It sure was, and it was one of the most important experiences in my life," Marco grinned. "All those years I've gotten into karate has paid off and I've been sticking to it ever since."

"Yahoo Marco," Star cheered. "I'm so happy that you got Jackie's attention, even though you were too shy to talk back so you only nodded."

"Yup, but it's too bad that something happened one week later that _nearly_ ruined it," Marco said shamefully.

"What happened one week later?"

"I puked on her lap," he admitted. "She doesn't resent me for that though, which was a good thing."

"Well that's good to know," Andrew jumped onto the next rail with Star and Marco following after him. "Now if only I could handle my own problems with Janna, and how she keeps teasing me with all those pranks and so-called affectionate love notes she writes to me."

"As I said before, I know the feeling all too well Andrew," Marco seemed sympathetic towards him. "Janna teases me all the time, such as pulling pranks on me too, in addition to stealing my house keys, taking my personal ID cards and fingerprints, breaking into my wallets, trying to use Star's spell book so she and I could _share some magic_ together, breaking into my house daily to steal food, and she even went as far as tell me that _I know who to call when I get a divorce_ from Jackie."

"Oh for goodness sake," Andrew grunted as he felt sorry for Marco. "Then that means I'll have to deal with even more shenanigans from her, and some more teasing that'll drive me crazy!"

"I know."

"Hey, guys look," Star pointed. "We got some more big trains that we have to deal with!"

Marco and Andrew looked beyond the horizon and seeing that there were in fact, more big trains that were coming their way.

"Well Marco, it looks like we have some more train company to deal with," Andrew spoke.

"You said it," Marco agreed. "Alright Star, let's get this over with."

"Now that's what I like to hear!"

And so the three of them had to take care of some more big trains that were ahead of them…

* * *

After some walking on foot, Team Sparkle found themselves back on the rails. Things were riding smoothly for them as they felt the rails vibrating. Pony Head was the one to have looked and noticed that there were some trains on the rails ahead of them.

"Hey gurls, there are some trains right ahead of us," she pointed.

"Not a problem," Daron smiled. "Let's jump to the rails below us."

And so they did just that as they narrowly avoided the trains ahead of them and ended up on some lower rails. The rails led them to some more ground where some craw monsters were waiting to ambush them. Luckily, Jackie was all for fighting them as she used her karate moves to smack them out and kicked them with her shin right before they were taken out.

"Wow Jackie, I'm never going to get tired of those karate moves." Daron gleamed.

"Yeah, thanks," Jackie then remembered something. "Actually, I don't think I would have learned about karate if Marco hadn't had taken some karate classes 8 years ago."

"Come again," Daron and Pony Head were interested, looking forward to hearing this.

"Yup, Marco learned karate when we were in third grade when a bully was giving me a hard time," Jackie explained. "It was cool of him to learn that not just to impress me, but to help me with the situation I was in. Of course, at the time, he was still shy around me so he did the head nod that we've done for years up until he got the courage to finally say hello to me."

"Wow gurl, that is pretty interesting," Pony Head slowly said.

"Yup, but one week later, Marco ended up puking on my lap," Jackie revealed as Daron and Pony Head cringed. "Now it's _nothing _to fret over, I held zero resent from him doing that. I know that it was an accident and that whatever he ate got him to puke."

"Okay…" Daron sounded awkward. "Perhaps we can continue by grinding on some more rails with our destination confirmed…"

"That's fine by me gurl." Pony Head was itching to get on the move again.

"Yeah, let's get going," Jackie smiled as the three of them continued down some more rails to head to their destination…

* * *

"Ugh, what's up with that _hideous_ train," Janna cringed at the sight of the train in front of her. The train just chugged by, dismissing her insult entirely.

"Does it matter what it looks like," Nebula huffed. "We just got to not get rammed by one and keep moving."

Nebula walked by her without another word as she didn't care for the trains. Janna was not pleased by this as she huffed and crossed her arms.

"I can't even get my _opinion_ in?" Janna scoffed.

"Have you thought about what she may be thinking?" Upsilon offered a suggestion.

"Well I've been thinking about her this whole time, as you may not," Janna snorted. "But her thoughts? No, not really. They're probably too _ultimate _for me to understand."

"Compute what she must be thinking based on discouraging information."

"I dunno, she's like a female equivalent of Andrew," Janna blurted out. "She's a brick wall, who puts you on one side and her feelings on another side. You literally have to break through it to get to her."

"Erm…Andrew?"

Janna then realized she said something that she _shouldn't _have said. She quickly turned away and hid the blush that was forming. "Oh, he's no one. Just some guy I've met back in the day…"

_And pulled pranks on for the past five months…_

"He can't be _no-one_ if you know about him," Upsilon then reminded. "Does he have any connections with this Marco that you mentioned back in the City Dimension?"

Janna entirely dismissed his question by shouting "Hey, Nebula's getting away! We better follow her before we lose sight of her again!"

Janna then ran off and followed after Nebula, while leaving Upsilon confused.

Who was Andrew, and did he have some connection with Marco? It just _didn't_ compute…

* * *

Team Star had outrun several more of those trains on the rails, as they kept grinding. It was strange that most of the travel in this dimension was done by grinding on the rails instead of walk. But then again, considering how high up they were and how they could plummet to their death at this height, it might be understood as to why these rails were meant for grinding.

Eventually, the grinding came to a halt when they arrived at a dead end which was made by another giant train.

"Hey guys, look out for that train," Star cried out. "It could pull out at any minute."

Yet the train was idle as it wasn't moving an itch.

"It appears that the train is serving as a dead end," Marco concluded.

"In that case, guess we'll have to get off these rails then," Andrew considered.

They jumped to the left as they decided to get over those fences. Star carried Marco over while Andrew simply scaled the fence before jumping off and gliding after his teammates. Once they were on the other side, they landed on the ground as they found themselves propelled upward by a spring to an upper path. At the end of the path, they found another giant balloon with a giant fan running.

"Oh look at that, it's another giant balloon," Star gushed.

"Well, you know the drill guys," said Andrew.

"Yup," Marco understood this perfectly. "Let's use it to go up."

Team Star then used the giant balloon to go up the current from that fan. This brought them to a higher area of the canyon. Once they landed, they continued the trek through this canyon dimension…

* * *

"Are you two going to keep up with me this time around," Nebula asked in annoyance, noticing Janna and Upsilon were back by her side.

"Oh yes, we just took a short break just to wait to board an incoming train," Janna retorted sarcastically. They were grinding again as Nebula noticed the sour attitude from the Filipino. Nebula turned around and was grinding backward while facing Janna.

"What's with you," she asked, a smirk plastered onto her face. "I thought I was the one who was typically _snappy_."

"You're not _snappy_; you'd rather say nothing at all, honestly," Janna replied. It was then Nebula's smirk turned back into a frown.

"Why are you acting so sour? If anyone is supposed to be mad, it's _me_," Nebula jumped once again as she faced forward while grinding. "But you don't see me growling though. I know there's nothing I can do about my current situation…unless I can get my hands on Ludo and make him tell me _everything."_

"Well maybe I'm mad at Ludo too," Janna blurted as she sped up. "I just want to make him pay for what he's doing, and for what he has done."

"Now that is more like a normal response, but save the energy for when we do run into Ludo again," Nebula insisted. "Then you can unleash any amount of wrath you have stored up inside of you."

Janna fell silent as a result while they kept grinding down the rails.

"He won't get away with anything. I'll make sure of it, personally."

* * *

"Hey girls, the rails ahead of us are out," Daron yelped. "We're about to fall off!"

"No worries Daron," Pony Head offered. "I'll bring _us_ to safer ground."

"Really," Daron had to make sure of something before she went with this. "Do you promise _not_ to drop us?"

"Because if you drop us at _this_ height, we'll be as good as _dead_," Jackie said in a rather serious tone.

"No worries, I promise I won't drop you," Pony Head promised. "Now grab onto me and _trust_ me on this one."

Feeling that they have to either trust Pony Head or fall to their deaths, they had to go with the former. Daron grabbed Pony Head while Jackie grabbed Daron by the waste. She then hovered off the rail without letting go of her partners. After a couple of minutes of flying, Pony Head managed to make it to safer ground. Jackie and Daron jumped down as Pony Head descended while catching her breath.

"Phew, see gurls, that wasn't so bad," Pony Head told them.

"Yeah, I guess it was a good experience," Daron smiled. "It's better than having us fall to our death."

"No kidding," Jackie agreed. "Anyway, thanks for the lift Pony Head."

"Yeah, thanks for that Pony Head," Daron thanked the floating unicorn head. "And thanks for not dropping us either."

"It was nothing gurls, you are my_ teammates_ after all," Pony Head sounded sincere. "Now what do you say we get onto the next set of rails that are in front of us."

Indeed, there were more rails for them to grind on.

"Might as well, we've done nothing but grind on these things since we came to this dimension," Daron adjusted her glasses.

"Not that _I'm _complaining that is," Jackie smirked.

"Well let's get going."

The three girls decided to head down the rails once again as they headed downward from riding on the rails. As they pressed forward and got onto another rail, they saw an incoming train in front of them, but they managed to maneuver out of the way and got onto another set of rails.

"Well, girls, its safe to say that we're smooth sailing from here," Daron chimed.

"Hey Daron, what's that up ahead," Pony Head motioned her attention to the base in front of them.

"I think that's the terminal station where Ludo is hiding out in," Daron concluded.

"Well dudettes, I think it's best if we head over there and find Ludo for ourselves," Jackie suggested.

"Yah, and we'll be able to get my medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace back in no time," Pony Head chimed.

"Fair enough with me, let's get going," said Daron.

The three of them headed to the terminal station where Ludo was located as they had hopes of getting their belongings back from the hideout that Ludo is staying in within this dimension…

* * *

Back with the Demonstrix, they had gotten by quite a bit through the canyons so far as they were grinding some more on the rails. Each of them was lost in their own little thoughts.

At least until Tom picked up on something.

"Guys, let go to a slowing halt."

They did just that as they narrowly avoided a cannonball one of the monsters that were a miniature bull train shot out. This cannonball ended up destroying the rail ahead of them.

"I don't believe it, they destroyed the rail," Tom shook his head.

"Vell, they must be very desperate," Buff Frog concluded.

As they were about to fall, they reacted quickly by jumping onto a set of some nearby rails above. From there, they continued onward by grinding some more…

At least, until they came across a detour sign that pointed to the rails facing the right since a train blocked their path.

"So that's the detour sign that our client was referring to," Archibald mused.

After that, they went onto the rails that the detour sign led them to as they kept grinding. Unfortunately, it didn't take them long to notice something was wrong as they were continually grinding in circles. Buff Frog, Tom, and Archibald took notice of this after a few circle grinds and were at a lost.

"Uh, guys, what the heck is going on here?" Tom asked.

"I dunno, but it _is_ confusing," Buff Frog shook his head.

"Which way do we go," Archibald questioned. "How do we get out of here?"

"Did you check out your coordinates," the client suddenly spoke, spooking the three members as they yelped and screamed as a result.

"Awfully sorry, I was just about to give you guys my update when I overheard your latest situation."

"Wow, talk about convenience." Archibald chirped.

"Anyway," Tom spoke up. "We found the detour that you talked about, and we are now stuck."

"Yes, go on," the client egged.

"What I'm saying is that it feels like we're going in circles," Tom pointed.

"Yeah, it's making me _dizzy_, eh," Archibald felt his head spin.

"Vat a complicated setup," Buff Frog confessed.

"You boys have to activate a switch to get out of there," the client deadpanned.

"Oh, you mean that circular thing that is flashing red?" Archibald wondered.

"Yes, that's the switch."

"Okay, because I found one on a platform in the center of the circle."

"Good, now that has to be activated."

Archibald gave a salute and flew down to touch it, resulting in Buff Frog telling him to wait. Once Archibald touched it, Tom and Buff Frog were now finding themselves grinding out of the circle with Archibald flying back to catch up with them.

"I guess the switch has been activated," Buff Frog assumed.

"Good, now just follow that rail and it'll take you to your destination," said the client.

"And how long vill that take us?" The frog monster wondered.

"What do I look like, a genius? You three have to figure that out for yourselves. You have to be able to pass these tests without my assistance; otherwise, how else will I be able to trust you guys with the _true _mission?!"

The client cut the call as Buff Frog snatched the talkie and started yelling into it despite not being active any longer. Archibald had a confused look while Tom looked puzzled as well.

"If what we've been doing so far are just tests, then what is our true mission?" He had to ask.

"Vell, only one vay to find out," Buff Frog gave up as the talkie was pocketed. "Let's go."

"Right away," Archibald was determined as the rails eventually took them to their designated location…

* * *

"Activating balance servos," Upsilon blurted as the dreadful team was close to Ludo's hideout.

"What the heck is a servo anyway?" Janna was confused.

"A robot part perhaps," Nebula shrugged.

_I don't suppose Marco knows what a servo is. _Janna thought. She didn't say that aloud due to what happened earlier when she blurted out Andrew's name, causing Upsilon to interrogate her and bringing up Marco's name too.

It seems that all the grinds they did cause them to almost forget why they were there; to find Ludo. They were close to the entrance to his hideout since they were grinding on rails all morning.

Suddenly, the next platform they landed on had some Craw monsters littered. Nebula immediately got in position.

"Well, here they come again!"

"Upsilon, do your thing and take them out!" Janna yelled while standing to the side.

"Ludo's monsters must be exterminated!" Upsilon blared as he shot two missiles towards the monster pack. Luckily, this did the job as the monsters were knocked out. Nebula did the honor and kicked them off the edge which they fell to their demise.

"That went by quicker than I thought," Janna rubbed her head.

After that, they continued onward. They approached a large balloon that was in front of a running fan as Upsilon grabbed it. Nebula and Janna grabbed onto the robot as the balloon was blown upward which they reached the upper path.

"Hmph, that was a simple method," Nebula sparked as they landed on the ground again.

"That could have gone better…" Janna muttered as she and Nebula stared at Upsilon. He was making sounds as if he was downloading something.

"Scanners have indicated that the next area of interest; Ludo's hideout is just past this area. If we are lucky, we should be able to catch him."

"Then let's not waste _any_ time," Nebula declared as she took off to the next area, towards Ludo's hideout. Upsilon and Janna exchanged a glance.

"I always processed that I anxiously wanted to eradicate Ludo," Upsilon spoke blankly. Janna just shrugged her shoulders.

"At this rate, I find it hard to believe that Nebula and I once worked for Ludo."

She smiled, but she then got a cold look in return as Upsilon was giving her the hard stare. As they went after Nebula, Upsilon made this comment:

"You have a lot to explain to me."

* * *

"Okay, we managed to outrun another set of monstrous trains that nearly creamed up," Marco panted for a moment or so.

"We were lucky to have gotten out alive," Andrew insisted. "We must be on the other side of these canyons and Ludo's base is nearby."

"I do believe your right Andrew," Star jumped onto another set of rails with Marco and Andrew joining her. The three of them grind down the rails towards the hideout of Ludo.

As they were grinding on the rails, with the terminal station they needed to get through just in the distance, Andrew had thought back about what Marco explained in regards to how he learned karate to impress Jackie and to help her with dealing with a bully. Then something else crossed his mind: didn't Star Butterfly have a crush on Marco at one point, as she told him before? He wasn't sure if she still had feelings for him, but it wouldn't hurt to ask for himself.

Taking a deep breath, Andrew decided to ask the Mewni princess.

"Excuse me, Star?"

"Yes, what is it, Andrew?" Star wondered what Andrew wanted.

"Okay, now I do recall you telling me this, but I just want to ask again," he started. "Didn't you once tell me that you had a crush on Marco?"

Star's smile quickly turned into a frown upon that question. Nonetheless, she answered.

"Yes…Yes, I did…"

Andrew noticed Star's tone took a sad turn, which made him shocked. Despite this, he still had one more question to ask her.

"Do…Do you still have _feelings_ for Marco?" He cautiously asked her, so he wouldn't expect an attack from her.

To his surprise, it never happened as Star just shook her head.

"No…I don't have feelings for him anymore," it sounded like guilt was crawling into her voice. "The time I had a crush on Marco…that was a passing phase: a personal phase that I don't want to discuss…"

Andrew didn't know what to say, as Marco stepped in.

"She's right Andrew," he told him. "Her crush on me was a really _personal _phase that she doesn't want to talk about. It was a really tough time for her."

"Oh, I understand…" Andrew wasn't grumbling, he muttered. "It's probably not important anymore anyway."

Star took in one last breath and said.

"Let's just say Andrew that I was being really _**selfish**_ back then when I wanted Marco and when I wanted to take him away from Jackie…"

Andrew nodded in understanding so she wouldn't have to discuss it, hearing just how guilty she was for that.

"I see…" Andrew simply uttered, having nothing else to say.

Suddenly, Star perked up again as she moved on from the subject.

"But moving on from that, we're close to Ludo's hideout," she beamed again. "There's no time to waste here, let's go!"

Without warning, Star grabbed Marco and Andrew by their arms and flew off down the rails where they were heading to Ludo's hideout past the canyons…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 10!**

**THAT'S RIGHT READERS! I DECIDED TO COME UP WITH A BACKSTORY FOR HOW MARCO GOT INTO KARATE! I BELIEVE SOME PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO ASSUME THAT HE GOT INTO KARATE TO IMPRESS JACKIE, BUT HERE I DECIDED TO EXPAND THAT A BIT AND TO DEAL WITH A BULLY THAT WAS GIVING JACKIE A HARD TIME! **

**AND AS FOR THE LAST PART OF THIS CHAPTER, THAT WAS A DECONSTRUCTION OF THE STARCO SHIPPING! I DID THIS BECAUSE HONESTLY, I DON'T LIKE STARCO, NOT ANYMORE THAT IS!**

**I WAS NEVER CRAZY ABOUT THE PAIRING, EVEN WHEN I GOT INTO THE SERIES, BUT FOR THE FIRST TWO SEASONS, I WAS ABLE TO TOLERATE IT! BUT BY THE FINAL SEASON (SEASON 4), IT GOT TO THE POINT WHERE IT WAS CONSTANTLY SHOVED INTO YOUR FACE, EVERY CHARACTER IN THE SHOW WAS SHIPPING THEM AND TO ME, IT GOT ANNOYING. COMBINE THAT WITH HOW THE PAIRING WAS HANDLED POORLY BY THE LAST FEW EPISODES TO THE POINT WHERE IT SEEMED RUSHED, AND YOU CAN SEE WHY I DON'T LIKE STARCO ANYMORE! **

**DESPITE THIS, THEY'RE STILL ON THE SAME TEAM, AND WHILE I MADE MENTION OF STAR'S CRUSH ON MARCO, BY THIS STORY, THEY HAVE A NON-ROMANTIC PLATONIC RELATIONSHIP AKIN TO THAT OF SONIC AND TAILS, AS IF STAR WAS ALSO A MALE! I DON'T KNOW IF YOU LIKE STARCO OR NOT, BUT THIS IS JUST HOW I PERSONALLY FEEL ABOUT IT, AND I HOPE YOU'LL UNDERSTAND MY OPINION.**

**WITH ALL THAT SAID, FEEL FREE TO REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU WANT TO, AND I HOPE YOU'LL WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	12. Canyon Dimension II

**CHAPTER 11-CANYON DIMENSION II:**

* * *

"Well, I guess it's safe to say that this place has become more like a hideout," Nebula commented, flying around a cliff as more structures came into view, rather than just rails and platforms.

"Preparing to infiltrate," Upsilon boomed, seeming quite thrilled that they made it to Ludo's hideout. Janna only sighed and shook her head.

"Here we go…"

Team Dread had gotten past the canyons that led to Ludo's hideout, as they were prepared to get revenge and question the Avarian to death. The place looked more like a train station than it did previously. Another thing worth mentioning was that there were some giant turrets being fired in the distance; there were still some canyons surrounding them though.

Upsilon, in particular, was the first to have taken notice of one of the giant turrets, and let out the robot equivalent of a whistle.

"I thought I had big guns."

"I don't think those are guns," Janna stated. "Those look more like turrets, so to speak."

"Who cares what they are supposed to be," Nebula got them back on track, as she fired several dark lightning spears at a trio of monsters. "If it has nothing to do with us, then it's not our problem."

"I seriously doubt that it isn't our problem," Janna muttered. "In fact, I think we'll end up encountering one of those shortly…"

As Nebula and Upsilon trailed ahead, Janna went after them. She was starting to wonder why she had formed a team with a killer robot and an amnesiac Nebula. Maybe it's because she was glad to see Nebula back from the dead, despite having amnesia and having a killer robot on her team seemed like a pretty cool idea and it helps when they are surrounded by monsters.

_I guess I had felt that this team would be wicked cool since both of my partners are awesome fighters, and yet, I still wonder why I formed this team with them._

Keeping a lid on it, she followed her partners through the hideout that Ludo was located in…

* * *

"Hey guys, don't you feel that strange sensation in the air," Marco was the first to comment, as they entered Ludo's hideout.

"That's probably because we're getting close to the center Marco," Star chimed.

"So I guess we are heading in the right direction," Andrew commented.

Team Star had ridden on the rails as they were getting closer to the platform ahead of them. They all landed on the platform safely…

…all except for Star, who _unluckily_ landed on top of a craw monster, which resulted in her gaining some substantial injuries as she was thrown off and left in a daze. Andrew ended up snickering to himself at Star's predicament as she shook this off.

"Huh, what gives," Star snarled as she sneered at the monster she hit. Taking out her wand, she used a simple Rainbow Fist Punch to knock its lights out, leading to it vanishing afterwards. Marco was quite surprised that Star had let her guard down at that moment.

"Heh heh, you gotta admit that the look on your face when you hit that monster was priceless," chortled Andrew, as Star turned to face him and had a look of irritation.

"Well, it's a shame that I wasn't able to see my own face at that moment."

"Honestly, the only way she would have seen her face is if she saw it for herself via camera phone," Marco muttered to himself, remembering the time Star was doing spells in her sleep.

The Latino then went and scurried after Star and Andrew who had gone on ahead…

* * *

"Alright girls, it's clear that this place is dangerous," Daron informed. "And it seems like we've entered Ludo's hideout."

"Peeshaw, gurl, I'll have you know that _danger_ is mah middle name," Pony Head brushed off. "I mean look at all those cannons!"

"Still it wouldn't hurt to be on guard," said Daron.

"Regardless, let's see what this place has in store for us," Jackie seemed daring. "And see if we can find Pony Head's medallion and my seashell necklace."

"Right on sistah," Pony Head smirked. "Let's get a move on."

"I'm way ahead of you two," Daron led the way. "Let's go!"

The three of them then went through the hideout and desired to check it out for themselves…

* * *

"Okay, we made it past the terminal station and got into Ludo's hideout," Archibald chirped with Buff Frog and Tom by his side. "So what's our next mission mister client sir?"

"Here it is: capsules that were developed by Ludo are located throughout this hideout. You'll have to destroy at least 30 of them," the client was brief before hanging up.

"…well, that was _brief_ but to the point."

Archibald hung up as Tom suddenly glanced away.

"I have to wonder what these capsules contain if we have to _destroy_ them…"

"Probably some _experimentation_ that Ludo may have vorked on," Buff Frog came to the assumption. "There may also be some _magical_ energy source inside them that could aid Ludo in vhatever he's planning."

"I also have to wonder what the capsules look like," the gargoyle was lost. "Our client could have at least given us a description of them."

"I guess we'll know for sure when we encounter one," the demon stated as the three of them rushed through the hideout to find and destroy 30 capsules…

* * *

"…but you looked completely stunned Star," Andrew cackled from recalling what Star got into.

"Oh just let it go already, will ya Andrew?"

Marco had shaken his head at the sight of this. It was almost as if Star and Andrew swapped bodies mysteriously.

"See, I told you that you wouldn't have liked my sense of humor," the treasure hunter stated in a devious manner. "It was almost as funny as all the times you fell into my traps and how I constantly _trolled_ you back on my island when I first met you and Marco."

"Why I oughta-"

"Hey guys, I'm sorry to interrupt your latest debate, but we got some more monsters to deal with," Marco warned them, pointing to the monsters that were approaching them. Star was the first to enter the fray with her wand in her hands.

"Have some of this: Hurricane Force Winds!" Star fired some hurricane force winds on the monsters she approached, sending them barreling off the cliff behind them. Marco and Andrew handled the other monsters she didn't with karate chops and punches respectively.

After she had taken care of the monsters, Star went and flew up to another area, only to see a boarded up spot on the ground. She had no idea what that was supposed to be.

"Wow, this is odd," Star said aloud to her partners. "I wonder why that entry has been boarded up!?"

"We only have one way to find out," Andrew glided right beside her.

"Uh, guys, a little help here," Marco being the one who couldn't fly begged. "Is it bad that I'm the only one who can't fly?"

Star sighed as she went to grab Marco and brought him up. Once the three of them were at the top, they approached the boarded area. Andrew jumped up and drilled right through it, getting it to fall off as Andrew jumped down the hole. Star and Marco followed afterwards as they landed at the bottom of the hole.

When they got down there, they had landed on something that was moving at top speed. Said vehicle was a train, as it felt like a combination of a tunnel, and a subway styled like the Wild West.

"Is this…a tunnel?" Andrew was perplexed by what he saw. Marco landed onto a crate which his head got stuck in while Star landed face first on yet _another_ monster. She took care of it before Andrew could make a snarky comment.

"Uh…my head is stuck," Marco muffled from within the crate. "I can't see a thing! Can I get a little help?!"

Since he had the fists for the job, Andrew punched the crate open as Marco was able to see where they had landed.

"Thanks for that," he then saw what was around him. "Wow, this place looks like an underground tunnel and a subway as if it was the Wild West!"

"I think we get the picture Marco," Star smiled.

"Still, I wonder how long this thing is," the Latino had to ponder.

"If we stay ahead of the train, then we'll be okay," the Mewni princess motioned them to follow her to the front of the train, which they did. Star blasted through crates with Rainbow Fist Punches, Andrew punched other crates out of the way, and Marco was able to karate chop any other crates the other two have missed.

They got to the front of the train where they came to a halt.

"Alright, we found it," Star did an air fist. "Now Andrew, destroy that engine core!"

"I'm all over it," Andrew got his fists readied as Marco grew wide-eyed.

"Uh guys, I don't think _that's _a good-"

He didn't get to finish as Andrew's fist made contact with the engine core, and suddenly…

BOOM!

Team Star was suddenly propelled out of the tunneling by the following explosion, getting back up to surface. Marco was screaming, Andrew was chuckling, and Star was whooping and cheering from the daring escape…

* * *

Team Sparkle had gotten through by running on conveyor belts, going up by using cannons, and took out some monsters along the way. When they got to the next area, they found themselves cornered by more monsters. Of course, Daron was willing to take them out by gripping her fake wand to be ready to use.

"No worries girls, I've got this," Daron charged as she started whacking more monsters with the fake wand. As she kept it up, Pony Head took notice about how much harder it has gotten to smack her opponents with it, judging by its size. To the floating unicorn, all it needed is a little growth.

Stepping up, Pony Head decided to take action.

"Hey gurl, I got a perfect idea," she hollered, getting Daron and the Craw monsters to stop. "Watch this!"

Pony Head then fired some unicorn magic on Daron's fake wand as everyone was watching in awe. When she was done, the wand suddenly grew big enough to leave a stronger impact, while still being small enough for her to carry and pocket around with her. Daron was confused by this as she decided to ask the well-expected question.

"Pony Head, what did you _do?_" She gave her a look.

"Oh I just did something to your fake wand so it could increase in size and deliver more of an impact," the floating unicorn head informed. "Now that wand should be twice as powerful, so try it out."

"Uh…okay…" Daron was skeptical about this but tried it anyway by swinging the fake wand into a monster, and to her surprise, it delivered a more forceful impact as one of the monsters fell down and vanished.

"Wow," Daron's eyes were sparkling from this, as more craw monsters appeared. "Let's see what this thing can do now."

"I've got your back gurlfriend," Pony Head declared.

"Me too," Jackie jumped in after witnessing what Pony Head did to Daron's fake wand, holding a karate pose. "Let's take care of this."

And so the battle resumed. Daron was able to swing her newly grown fake wand into the Craw Monsters with ease, as no pressure was felt from doing so. While she was trying that out, Pony Head speared through some of the Craw Monsters with her horn before blasting them with her magic energy beams. Meanwhile, Jackie was able to fend off more of the monsters with her karate chops and kicks, being just as effective as her teammates.

It wasn't long before the monsters were defeated and vanished once they did. Daron pocketed her wand and turned to face Pony Head.

"You know Pony Head, I don't know how to thank you for this," she thanked her. "I mean if you hadn't have done what you have, I would have had more trouble with dealing with these monsters."

"Aw well, it was nothing," Pony Head sounded flattered. "It's just that your one of my teammates and I just _wanted_ to help you out."

"Well your assistance is appreciated," Daron smiled. "Anyway, we are making great progress at this rate. Soon enough, I'll be able to impress Star, and we'll be able to get back your belongings you two."

"And maybe Marco might _give_ Jackie a kiss too," Pony Head teased.

"Yeah, I could see that happening," Jackie shook off a blush. "Let's keep going."

They obliged as the girly team continued on through the hideout…

* * *

Team Dread had found themselves in the drive for one of the turrets that they saw earlier in the distance, much to Nebula's distaste.

"Well, this appears to be the drive for that turret we saw earlier," Nebula muttered.

"Huh, well so much for not wanting anything to do with it," Janna teased.

"How was I supposed to know that this path would have led us to it," Nebula snapped.

"Uh regardless," Janna had a satisfied grin. "This looks like fun. Let's get in and try it out!"

Before Janna jumped in, Nebula stopped her and gave her a glare.

"Hold it, you remember what happened the last time we did something that you consider 'fun'," she reminded. "You gambled your heart out and _trolled_ us into taking part in a bingo game."

"Oh come on Nebula, it's not my fault you don't know how to have fun," Janna smirked and teased. "Anyway, I'm jumping in and you _can't __**stop me!"**_

_**"JANNA!"**_ Nebula bellowed before she jumped in and Upsilon grabbed the dark girl and brought her into it too.

"Initiate activation." Upsilon declared as the turret was getting ready to activate.

"Hey guys, which direction is _this_ turret in." the Filipino asked as she couldn't see a thing.

"Should have thought about that before jumping in like the troublemaker you are." Nebula huffed.

"Ugh, Nebula," Janna scowled.

Right as Janna was about to complain to Nebula, the turret fired away, sending the dreadful team rocketing through the air, passing through several canyons and rocky cliffs along the way. Janna was hollering and cackling herself away, Nebula just frowned as she only hopes that this would bring them where they have to go, and Upsilon was trying to comprehend how such an occurrence was possible…

* * *

The Demonstrix members have stumbled upon their first five capsules that they had to take care of. Strikingly, they looked like the one that Nebula was resting in before Janna came and released her from that capsule. Unfortunately, there were plenty of craw monsters guarding the capsules too. Knowing what this means, Buff Frog faced his comrades.

"Alright, let's get to vork comrades," Buff Frog popped in a piece of chewing prum as the craw monsters surrounded her. They looked confused by what he was doing as the frog monster was taking his dare-sweet time chewing away. Eventually, he blew a bubble from the prum and this got the monsters even more perplexed. In a matter of seconds, the prum blew up and got the monsters caught in the crosshair stuck in the stuff, unable to fight back.

"Awesome, now let's join in Tom," Archibald went into the fray as did Tom. After joining the fray, Tom took out one monster with a ball of flame while Archibald let out a battle cry before tackling another monster and biting it right on the neck. As one of the monsters were about to charge, Tom jumped out of the way just in time to land a kick to the back of the monster.

"Cool," the gargoyle buzzed as he ran over and spat acid balls at the other monsters while Buff Frog punched some of the monsters lights out while body slamming them and using his tongue to his advantage. Deciding to finish them off, Tom created several fireballs before tossing them at the remaining craw monsters, which defeated them.

"Alright Tom," Buff Frog congratulated him while kicking one of the knocked out monsters.

"Is that all of them," Tom was weary while the monsters popped away.

"I think so…" Buff Frog concluded that they took care of the monster squad, before facing the capsules. "Now let's get to destroying capsules in front of us."

"Right," Tom and Archibald were willing to go with that.

Buff Frog made the first move by landing a punch into one of them, which easily broke upon contact. "Hmm, seems like nothing's in this capsule."

"There has to be something in them," the demon engulfed two more capsules into flames while Archibald spat two big spits of acid onto the remaining two. This may have been a mistake since the five capsules let out a hissing sound as this occurred. Some gas leaked out from the bottom of the capsules too, as did sparks.

It didn't take long for the capsules Tom and Archibald took care of to explode, which the Demonstrix were prepared for as they got out of the way in time. Seeing that the five capsules were destroyed in front of them, they stared at the damage that was created.

"Uh, vat vas that about?" Buff Frog was confused.

"Okay, for future reference, let's handle the other capsules in a careful manner," Tom insisted.

"Careful manner," Archibald quizzed. Fortunately, he caught on as he decided that the others will be handled in a more dignified manner.

"Okay, the next capsule vee shall find vill be handled carefully," Buff Frog agreed. "Now let's go find remaining 25 capsules."

Tom and Archibald agreed as the three of them trekked onward to find the other 25 capsules to take care of…

* * *

"Of all the reckless things you two had to do combine," Marco groaned as he facepalmed, coming after the latest daring escape they got out of. "I had wanted to warn you that that wasn't a good idea and what did _you_ do? You destroyed the engine core and-"

"Relax Marco, it's not like we were in any real danger," Star assured him. "Besides, it's rare for both me and Andrew to perform such a daring escape together."

Andrew had a sweat-drop form in the back of his head, not wanting anything to say until they approached a giant balloon with a running fan ahead of them. Not taking any chances, the three of them grabbed the balloon and were lifted up the fan currents until they got up to a higher spot. Once they jumped down, they continued to find their way around.

"Okay, with all that recklessness behind us, Marco where should we go now," Star questioned. "Do you have a simple idea?"

"Maybe we should use teamwork since that's played an important role in this adventure so far," Andrew snorted as Star made a face. "Or we could follow my treasure hunting instincts to get us by."

"You know I can be good with directions when it comes to us getting organized and finding our way through, using a map like the one I found in Quest Buy when we had to get a new battery for your wand," Marco said thoughtfully. "The problem is there is no map or signs of the map anywhere in this location…"

"Which brings me back to my treasure hunting instincts…?"

"Andrew, would you rather have me get us by and have us run into another reckless stunt?"

"After what happened in the tunnel? No thank you, Star."

"Yeah, under the right circumstance can I be able to get us by here Star and Andrew," Marco rubbed his chin. "In the end, I always find out the solution to our problems."

"You mean like during the whole 'matchmaking' scenario where you suggested that I dance around the truth with my mom," Star dared to ask before bringing up. "Which _reminds _me, during that time when I had embarrassed you in front of Jackie, you told me that was the longest she has ever talked to you, and yet based on what you told me with how you learned karate she actually talked to you."

"That was only to _thank me for helping her_ and nothing more," Marco hastily blurted out. "Not to mention she didn't have that aqua streak in her hair at the time, and she was still learning how to master a skateboard."

"Okay, if I can get us back on track, maybe the direction that the train was going in might be an indication," Andrew suggested.

"You mean the one you and Star blew up when you punched that engine core," the Latino said. "It was heading somewhere important."

"But in which direction," Andrew groaned. "I don't even remember where _we_ came from…"

"Surprise there," Star snorted before ducking under a punch that Andrew tried to aim.

"Okay, I think I got it," Marco snapped his fingers. "The train we were heading on was going east if I can remember correctly. That combined with Star saying we're getting closer to the center shows that we should go there!"

"Wait a minute," Andrew hollered before Star and Marco ran off with him to catch up. "I had already said that we were heading in the right direction!"

Team Star then headed in the east direction to get where they need to go…

* * *

Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie had used another big balloon to go up the current from the fan that they had arrived towards. Once they got to the upper path, they jumped down and saw a giant metal door in front of them.

"Hey, that's strange," Daron rubbed her chin as Pony Head blasted the door down. They entered, only to be greeted with loud grinding sounds and the stern whirling of machines. "Girls, this looks like the internal mechanism of that giant turret we saw earlier!"

"Woo hoo Daron," Pony Head whooped as she got a good idea, giving her partners a daring smirk. "You gurls thinking what I'm thinking…"

"I guess we have to jump in and have it blast us to another part of this area," Daron assumed.

"I say let's _go _for it," Jackie had a daring grin as she and Pony Head approached the drive with Daron right behind them.

In a matter of seconds, they got sucked into it as the mechanism went upwards and was preparing to fire them away.

"Hey gurls, it's moving," Pony Head sounded eager.

"Girls, which direction is the turret in," Daron looked puzzled.

"We're about to find out in a moment dudette," Jackie assured. "I'm saying that because the turret is about to fire us."

Right as she said that did the turret open fire and sent the three girls skyrocketing through the air at a fast speed. They all cheered and hollered at how exhilarating they were soaring as they passed several canyons in front of them and it was a wonderful experience for them. They were heading to another part of the hideout…

* * *

"I seriously hope that we're heading in the right direction," Nebula grumbled. After the turret experience, she was now in more of a hurry, punching down any monsters that got in her way.

"Oh lighten up will you Nebula," Janna grunted. "We all want to get there as much as you do…"

"Yes, but I want to get this all done and over with!" Nebula barked.

"Me too," Janna muttered. "It's strange that this all started when I was hunting for Ludo's top-secret supernatural artifact, only to end up being paled around by you and a killer robot."

Nebula didn't turn around, but from the growl she made, she wasn't thrilled by her comment. "And what does that suppose to mean?"

Janna was about to reply sarcastically, but she frowned. With a grimace, she then shook her head and yelped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it offensively…"

"I don't think she was being offensive either," Upsilon backed up as Janna gave him a small smile. She then turned to see Nebula, but once she did, Nebula was already jogging off ahead of them. She sighed and smacked her face with both hands.

"I honestly don't know how much more of _this_ I can take…" Janna whined.

"You must act out eventually as you planned it," Upsilon said before heading off after Nebula. Janna shook her head and clenched her hands into a determined fist when she followed after them.

"I know that," she muttered. "That's why I have a plan, assuming that it can happen…"

She just had to hope that the right circumstance can take place and allow it to work…

* * *

Tom, Archibald and Buff Frog were on a scavenger hunt for the 25 capsules, not just to destroy them, but to investigate them too. True, their client said that they had to be destroyed, but since they are detective agents, they decided to do what they were meant to do; poke around the evidence and find something that could give them leads on what Ludo is planning with them, hence why they have to be destroyed.

"Okay, so there had to be some kind of gaseous magical chemical substance, and mechanical, hence why we saw those sparks in them," Tom deduced.

"Yes, but vho's to say same thing is in every capsule," Buff Frog pointed out.

The trio went with this as they continued on with their hunt. This led them to a cannon that they had to go up, which Archibald gave them the answer they had to take, by jumping into it. Tom and Buff Frog had no choice but to go into the cannon after him.

"Alright Archibald, this was something that we should have thought through first," the demon grunted.

"Well we needed to stop running in circles," the gargoyle countered.

"But vee veren't going in circles," Buff Frog protested. "Vee vere double checking."

The cannon fired and the Demonstrix ended up in another area as a result. They came across some crates which they easily discarded, and behind it were two more capsules. Archibald was about to charge for it, but Tom grabbed a hold of him and kept him back.

"Remember, we have to do this in a careful manner," Tom hissed before turning to the frog monster. "You go and open it Buff Frog."

"What, you don't think I can handle that capsule?"

Ignoring Archibald, Buff Frog went to one of the capsules and wedged his hands underneath the lid. After prying it with all of his strength, the top popped open which effectively flung Buff Frog onto the ground.

"Okay comrades, it's open…"

Tom was the next to investigate as he got onto the capsule and peered down into its contents. The problem was it was too dark to get a clear look, so Tom had to kick it over and watch the contents inside spill out…

…but this left them horrified.

"Is that who I think it is," Archibald flew over to take a look for himself. Tom jumped down and pulled Archibald away before he did something he'd regret. The three of them looked and saw what came out.

It sounded like a robot if the clonking sound onto the floor was anything to go by. However, upon a closer look, it was actually an _android_ since it resembled a living being.

The living being this resembled was that of Nebula Dragonfly. Ladies and gentlemen, they were staring at the sight of a _Nebula Android_.

"Uh why does that android resemble the dark haired girl we faced on the skyscraper," Archibald wondered. "…unless of course, that _**is**_ her!"

"Hard to tell," Buff Frog knocked over the other capsule to have another Nebula Android pop out and land next to the first one.

"So…what does this mean? Was the Nebula girl we encountered in the city dimension also an android?"

"That's also hard to say," Tom interjected. "You see, when I fought her, she seemed real enough, but maybe that because Ludo might have gotten a fancy into cloning. But if that was the case, then he would have needed the _real Nebula_ in order to clone _these __**androids**_**,** and if that wand the Nebula we faced previously had is any indication…"

Tom was wondering if the Nebula they faced before was the real deal or an android too. Buff Frog caught on to what Tom was referring to and was heard thinking.

"What's on your mind Buff Frog?"

Buff Frog answered by taking out one of their newspaper clippings that he had in his possession. This one contained an article about Star saving the universe from being imploded by the space station GOD. As Tom skimmed over it, however, he noticed that there was another girl who was aiding Star in saving the universe but had died in the process of sacrificing herself.

"Nebula fought valiantly alongside Star Butterfly but had sacrificed herself for Star, the GOD, the universe, and for Victoria Avarius, the reason why such a catastrophe had occurred in the first place," Buff Frog read off the paper.

"Oh yes, one part of the catastrophe that occurred involved Ludo blasting off half of the blood moon off for everyone to witness," this made Tom cringe. "Well, whoever was under the _**blood moon curse**_ has been lifted from the curse because of_ that _stunt."

"Anyway," Buff Frog continued reading. "She shall rest in peace. Knowing that everyone throughout the universe owes her greatly for her sacrifice, and are unable to thank her enough."

"You're not implying that the Nebula we ran into was the real deal, do you?" Archibald asked.

"Dunno for sure."

"But that happened five months ago, right?"

"Yeah, afterwards vas vhen Ludo retired from evil, and Star disappeared while helping people out while things vere at peace." Buff Frog recalled.

"You guys don't suppose that the death of Nebula had something to do with why Star had done all those jobs that we could have taken, do you?" Tom brought up.

"Okay, vat are ya implying comrade Tom?" Buff Frog looked curious as did Archibald.

"I mean think about it: Starship disappeared without a trace as none of her friends saw her for 5 months after the death of Nebula Dragonfly. This kind of action is part of the grieving phase as she was heartbroken by what had happened. I theorize that the reason Star took those jobs from us was not because she didn't want to hinder us, but because she had wanted to get her mind off of things and doing so proved to be something _therapeutic_. Therefore, being able to help those people proved to be easeful and relaxing to her mind so she wouldn't have to think of the trauma and would hopefully be able to _face_ her friends again soon. As a result, Starship only did those jobs so she would be in a therapeutic state and get her mind off of Nebula's death."

Archibald and Buff Frog jaw-dropped at Tom's explanation; they didn't expect their demon Mewman hybrid companion to know a little thing about counseling and how something could impact someone mentally and leave them in a scarred state. Finding their voice, they then decided to respond.

"Vow, that vas deep comrade Tom," Buff Frog admitted.

"Yeah, how do you know that that was likely the case that Star was in?" The gargoyle questioned.

"It's simple," Tom revealed. "After having been given anger counseling for months, you start to learn a little about how the mind works in different situations. That's something I've learned from my anger counseling sessions that I took."

"Vell, you've made excellent point Tom," Buff Frog praised. "I firmly believe that Star only did that to ease herself after tragic death of Nebula."

"Exactly, and it went on as _that_…until now," Tom exclaimed.

"Getting back to what we were saying, if the original Nebula had died, then how did Ludo manage to clone some androids after her?" Archibald questioned.

"It's been said Nebula vas Ultimate Life Form," Buff Frog started. "Maybe Ludo did clone and model androids after her to recreate army of Nebula look-alikes."

"Regardless of the reason," the client interrupted, getting them to jump and yelp again. "It is imperative that you three boys destroy as many capsules as you can. As we stand now, you only have 23 capsules left to destroy. This will hinder Ludo's process, and slowing him down from a mass takeover of the universe. Take down three more capsules and you'll be one quarter closer to getting this task accomplished."

Once the line went dead, the Demonstrix member continued on while leaving the wrecked capsules and discarded Nebula Androids where they were as they went to find and destroy the remaining 23 capsules…

* * *

Andrew had pushed opened a heavy looking door as he stomped his way through. Star and Marco trailed through afterwards.

"Okay, that was a little unsettling," Star said nervously as they walked to the other side of the room.

It was a fenced window, and past it was the huge four turret cannon that Team Dread and Team Sparkle previously used was spinning around and firing in all directions.

Star almost thought that she saw someone being fired from the cannon, but that thought alone was pretty crazy.

"You know, I don't think I want to know the purpose that the turret over there holds," Marco cringed.

"The worst part of this is that it's likely not the only one," huffed Star. "Maybe Ludo used those turrets to clear out space for his latest hideout."

"I hope that's the only case…"

"Ahem, are you guys going to sit back and chat over a cup of tea, or are you going to join me down this hole," Andrew poked his head out and got their attention.

"Wow, you sure have a thing for popping up in bizarre places huh?" Marco remarked.

"Well, I'd rather do that then have a debate over the usage of a super-turret." Andrew huffed.

"Dude," Star said, taking a page from Jackie. "Wouldn't it be a little important to know what Ludo is up to with _those _weapons?"

"Especially when we have to head for it," Marco added as they both went down the hole with Andrew.

"Maybe we can destroy that turret too," Andrew suggested as he bolted off. Marco was left with that dumbfounded look on his face about how Andrew would want to wreck something else after the train's engine core.

"Come on Marco," Star groaned as she grabbed his arm and dragged him while she follows Andrew. "We know how well things turn out when Andrew causes them…"

"Let's not forget that _you_ have your share of recklessness too, Star," Marco grumbled.

Star didn't say anything as she and Marco went after Andrew so they could continue through this area…

* * *

After being fired from the turret, Team Sparkle had ended up in another area as they pressed forward. It wasn't long before they encountered three craw monsters ahead of them, joined with an octopus monster.

"Here they come, girls," Daron had her fake wand out, preparing to strike.

"We got you covered Daron," Pony Head looked determined.

"Yes, we have your back," Jackie agreed as she got into position.

It didn't take long for Daron to charge and knock out the three craw monsters in front of them. With the enhanced fake wand, dealing with monsters was easier than it was before. Daron was clearly smiling with confidence similar to Star.

Sadly, this caused her to let her guard down when the octopus monster went and grabbed her.

"What the…" Daron took notice of her abductor. "Oh for goodness sake, lemme go you stupid monster!"

She tried struggling, but she couldn't break free.

"Oh no," Jackie shook her head, recalling what happened to Pony Head last night when Ludo had the same kind of monster hold her down. "Not again…"

"Don't worry Daron," Pony Head stepped up and charged up her wand. "I'll save you!"

She then fired it away at the octopus monster and got it to squeal in pain. Suddenly, it fell to the ground and released Daron from its massive grip before disappearing. Pony Head and Jackie helped her up and got her onto her feet.

"Wow Daron, are you alright," Jackie sounded concerned.

"I should be, thanks to that rescue," Daron then thanked Pony Head for her deed.

"Getting a little confident aren't you Daron?" Pony Head smirked.

"Yeah, I might have gotten a little too overconfident that I let my guard down." Daron rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Hey, no sweat Daron," the skateboarder girl smiled. "Let's just try to be more _careful_ next time."

"Sure thing," the nerdy girl then motioned them to continue. "Let's get going."

Obliging, the floating unicorn head and skateboarder chick followed their leader as they continued on through the area…

* * *

Team Dread traveled on the rails again as they had to veer out of the way from any incoming trains that came in their paths. Two giant turrets were shown spinning around in the background, but after the latest encounter, no one decided to comment on it.

Once they jumped off the rails, they were greeted to a quintet of monsters as Upsilon got ready to open fire.

"Must annihilate all Ludo's minions," Upsilon blasted as he fired away at the monsters.

"I haven't heard that one in a while," Janna charged in and swung her hairdryer into another monsters' jaw, careening it onto the ground.

Nebula joined in the fight too, taking down any of the monsters that tried to stop her. Unfortunately, one of the monsters got the upper hand against her and successfully pushed her down onto the ground. Holding her wand in place, Nebula unexpectedly fires another attack from the wand: a dark purple fist of some kind that punched the monsters' lights out. This surprised Nebula as she didn't remember what that was.

"Whoa, what the heck was that," Nebula queried. "I don't remember that attack."

"Oh Nebula," Janna approached her casually. "That was a Dark Purple Fist Punch: another attack that you use to know."

"Hmm…" Nebula mused about this for a minute. "That interests me."

"Enemies have been exterminated," Upsilon informed.

"Great," Janna wiped her forehead. "Because I don't remember the last time I had to fight against all these monsters."

"Maybe because all _these_ monsters were on your side," Upsilon hummed lowly.

Janna shot him a look for a second.

_The thing is, I don't remember Ludo ever having these many monsters. Most of them were different but Star and Marco handled them, and from that one time, he also had an army of rats making up his colony._

She kept that quiet as she followed Nebula, with Upsilon trailing behind. They had just finished off the monsters and were ready to proceed through the hideout…

* * *

Back with the Demonstrix, they had taken out 15 out of the 30 capsules that had to be taken care of, meaning they were halfway done with completing the mission. They were still shaken up about how the creature inside the capsules was a clone of Nebula who supposedly died 5 months ago.

It didn't take long to find three more capsules ahead of them.

"Well, there are three more capsules that have to be taken care of," Tom turned to the gargoyle. "Archibald, I suppose it's your turn to take care of this."

"Alright, I won't let you down!"

Archibald rushed over to the capsules and he tried biting through each of them. Sadly, this didn't work as it only created a few tiny holes. Then he went back and then proceeded to spit acid on all three of them, which left an electric disaster in its wake.

"…a little overkill, but not bad."

Archibald just smiled and saluted. This left them with 12 more capsules needing to be dissembled.

Just up ahead was a turret viewing station just like the one Team Star had been in. Buff Frog watched as it spun around and fired in all directions. This got the frog monster to jump back a little.

"Come on, we gotta keep moving," Tom informed them.

"But doesn't this path lead us to the giant turret that's over there in the distance," Archibald quizzed.

"Most likely," Buff Frog replied as he punched right through a blocked off panel as they kept moving.

As Archibald predicted, the path they took did indeed lead them to the huge turret. They went right over to it since there was this feeling that some more capsules were in there.

Once Buff Frog punched down the door, they took a look and gawked at what they saw.

"This must be the turret's internal mechanism," the demon realized.

"That must be obvious," Buff Frog huffed.

"Hey, this looks fun," Archibald got their attention. "Can we try it out?"

"Don't touch anything Archibald!"

Too late, Archibald had already touched it.

"What are we going to do with you," the demon huffed as she jumped into the middle of the contraption with Archibald. Seeing he was being left behind, Buff Frog went in moments later. The Demonstrix members were being catapulted up the turret.

"Hey guys, it's moving!"

"It couldn't be because you touched it, Archibald!"

"Does anyone have an idea where this turret will take us?"

"Vee shall find out shortly," Buff Frog answered Tom's question.

Within a split second, the turret fired and shot them out as they were rocketing through the air and past several canyons as a result. Also worth mention was that they careened right through two more capsules in their path; leaving them with 10 more capsules to destroy.

"Well, we just shot through two more capsules," the gargoyle pointed the obvious.

"You better hope we don't slam into a cliff."

* * *

"I don't think you can destroy this turret Andrew," Star joked with a smirk on her face.

"Shut up, it was just a suggestion," growled Andrew in return. Star grinned as an idea came into her mind.

"Well, if we are coming up with ideas, mind if I throw my hat into the ring?

"What kind of idea could you come up with?"

"A better idea than yours at that, Andrew…"

"Shut up!"

"Anyway," Star snickered before turning to Marco. "How about we fire this thing?"

"Well it's certainly possible, but after the exploding train fiasco, I-"

Star didn't give him time to finish as she grabbed him and Andrew and jumped into the middle of the internal mechanism. Marco simply froze while Andrew proceeded to throw a very mature fit.

"Hey, come on now! Don't do it Star!"

"Should have said something quicker," Star chimed as the section they were standing on began to rise.

"Uh, which way is the turret facing," Andrew was growing tense. "I better not lose my hat…"

"We're about to find out!"

After the turret spun around several times, it faced a specific direction and before you knew it, the turret opened fired and the three of them were sent rocketing through the air as the past several canyons along the way. Star and Marco were having fun with this while Andrew wasn't, keeping a firm grip on his hat.

"YAHOOO!" Star and Marco cheered.

_**"STAR!" **_Andrew bellowed as he hoped this would get them in the right direction…

* * *

Currently, Pony Head was shown carrying both Daron and Jackie over a large gap to some nearby platforms. It seems that she has gotten better when it comes to getting Daron and Jackie to ground while knowing that they are unable to fly. When they got onto the ground, the two human girls caught their breath for a minute as did Pony Head.

"Wow, you know you have been getting better with keeping us when it comes to flying over something Pony Head," Daron congratulated.

"Yeah, well it was nothing. I guess I'm starting to understand the fundamentals of us being a team, and how you two aren't able to fly," the floating unicorn head admitted. "Plus, that incident last night when Ludo tried to kidnap you girls made me realize that I have been selfish and that I should look out for my teammates."

"Well that's great to hear Pony Head," Jackie smiled. "We're happy that you are able to understand our importance."

"Uh huh, yeah," Pony Head nodded.

It was then they looked up and saw another one of those turrets like the one they went in before.

"Hey girls, there's another turret," the nerdy fan girl pointed. "I doubt that we'll be able to go into that again."

"Yeah, I feel ya," Pony Head groaned. "It's a shame too because you know, that was _pretty_ fun."

"Well we may not be able to ride in that turret again," Jackie pointed to a floorboard. "But I think we should go down here."  
"Good eye there Jackie," Daron smiled. "But the problem here is how are we going to get through this board?"

"Allow me," Pony Head stepped forth and fired a beam of energy towards it, breaking it apart so they could jump down. "There, problem solved."

"Well, let's go, Jackie."

"Way ahead of you Daron," the skateboarder girl smirked.

"Don't go without me, here I come," Pony Head descended down the hole too.

When they got down, they saw that they were on a fast moving train in an underground tunnel just like the one Team Star explored.

"Whoa, I don't believe it," Daron was amazed. "We're actually on a train, girls!"

"Yes and from the looks of it, we seem to be in an underground tunnel that the train is riding through," Jackie took note of her surroundings.

"Yahoo, now this is the way to travel, I guess," Pony Head was ecstatic. "The place could be in a bit more wide open space you know, but whatever."

"I think there's something else that we should worry about Pony Head," Daron pointed to the front of the train. "I think that's the engine core up ahead."

"Ooh, let's check it out gurl," Pony Head floated off with Daron running behind.

"Uh dudettes, I'm not sure if we should be messing with that," Jackie rushed off after them.

When they got to the engine core, they examined it and wondered what would happen if they touched it.

"Hmmm, I wonder what this does," Daron came up with something and got out her fake wand. "I got an idea, maybe I shook bash it with my fake wand."

"Ooh, do it gurl. Do it," Pony Head encouraged.

Daron was about ready to swing and strike the engine core, as Jackie knew that wasn't a great idea.

"Uh, Daron and Pony Head, I really think we shouldn't be-"

But she was too late. Daron already struck the engine core with her wand. This caused an explosion that got the girly team to go hurling out of the tunnel as the three of them ended up on some rails on the outside afterwards.

"Hey, Jackie, how did the train just explode," Daron dared to ask as Pony Head was too pumped to respond.

Jackie only gave her a _blank_ look as they grind on the rail.

"I…I don't know…"

* * *

"We _really _better be heading in the right direction," Nebula sneered as the dreadful team was now in the same kind of underground train tunnel that Team Star was in and that Team Sparkle had just gotten out of.

"You should have known that you along with the rest of us didn't know where that boarded up hole would have taken us," Janna protested.

"Which is _why _I told Upsilon not to touch it," Nebula gritted her teeth.

"I had detected some monstrous presence down below," Upsilon gave his excuse.

"So let me get this straight, you were skeptical about where the turret was going to fire us, and yet you're willing to trust that this train is going to take us where we need to go?" Janna raised her eyebrow.

"The turret was firing in all directions, not to mention I couldn't see which way it was being fired in," Nebula argued. "This train, on the other hand, has to be going somewhere important, and I doubt that Ludo would have the cannon aimed at this base."

Janna seemed flustered, but she remained quiet.

"My sensors detect that we are headed in the direction of the base, but it won't stop there," Upsilon had calculated, and Janna could see it in his eyes. "Therefore, I must advise that we stop this train in…less than forty-five seconds."

Janna and Nebula shared a simultaneous cry of belief as Upsilon stormed over to the front of the train, blasted the engine core to bits, and grabbed the rest of the team just in time as the train started to explode. The impact of the explosion caused the dreadful team to be sent skyward as they were now outside again. The three of them soared over a couple of rails. When they landed on the rails, they grind down until they reached the platform in front of them, right as they collapsed in a heart-stopping heap…

* * *

With 20 capsules destroyed, the Demonstrix had only a mere 10 more to destroy. They had just gotten done with being shot out of that turret as they were getting themselves composed.

"Okay, so that turret shot us quite a distance," Tom shook his head.

"That was wicked awesome," Archibald beamed. "Can we do that again?"

"Archibald quit it," Buff Frog groaned. "This is no rollercoaster ride…"

"Well, it certainly felt like it." The gargoyle felt pumped from that experience. As soon as they grind down the end of the rails, they caught a ride on another big balloon which helped them go up the current from the big fan running in front of them. Once they landed on the upper ground, they continued walking again.

"So, any sign of the last 10 capsules," Tom queried.

"No, but I see another giant turret in the distance," Archibald directed.

"Not vat vee are looking for," Buff Frog insisted.

Up ahead, they came across some more craw monsters waiting to attack them. Needless to say, Tom, Archibald and Buff Frog were ready for action.

"Alright, we got some more monsters to bash," Archibald cried out as they were guarding five capsules in front.

"Let's do this, comrades!"

"We're on it," Tom made the first strike by throwing a couple of fireballs in the craw monsters directions, which did quite an impact.

Archibald followed suit by tackling another one and biting it on the head. He then went and kicked the monster before tackling another monster. Meanwhile, Buff Frog went and body slammed the other Craw monsters in their way before taking out some more chewing prum and sticking it into his mouth.

"Alright, let's see how they like _sticky_ situation," Buff Frog then started blowing several multiple bubbles that attached themselves to the craw monsters before popping and rendering them useless.

Tom tossed some flames onto those monsters and the other monsters guarding the capsules, which left them charred. Archibald then wrapped things up and shooting several spits of acid from his mouth, disintegrating the monsters entirely.

"Wow, we are good." Archibald did a stoic pose before they approached the capsules.

Buff Frog took care of the ones on the left by grabbing them and leaving dents and holes in them from punching, Tom took care of the middle one by engulfing it in flames, and Archibald tackled the ones on the right by spitting acid on them, causing the capsules to melt. In a matter of seconds, the capsules exploded while the Demonstrix went and covered behind a bar. Once the capsules were debris, the three of them pressed forward.

"Now we only have 5 more to destroy," Tom admitted confidently.

"But vho know how many capsules are out there," Buff Frog was left wondering.

For all they knew, they probably didn't leave a dent in the numbers…

* * *

"Woohoo, now that's what I call a flight," Star whooped as her team got back to grinding on rails.

"Oh my goodness," Andrew had his palm on his chest. "I think my heart stopped."

"You thought that was intense Andrew," Marco was catching his breath too. "Try riding on an invisible goat on the highway."

"I think I'll _pass_," Andrew shook his head.

Star just motioned them to join her as they kept grinding. Once they got off the rails, they ended up grabbing hold of another giant balloon that brought them up the current from the big fan below them. Once they reached the top, they encountered something that left Andrew horrified and Star excited. Of all the things that they could have encountered, it was a bobsled, similar to the cart they rode in the coastal ruins dimension.

"Wow, so this is what this cart thing is called; a bobsled," Star rubbed its sides and glory.

"Ugh, not this thing again; I hated riding in this thing the first time," Andrew grumbled.

"Well too bad Andrew, cause we're going to ride on it again," Star got Marco in the back to push it, Andrew in the front to drive it, and she got herself on the handlebar to allow it to jump.

"Some hideout we've been to; escaping exploding trains, getting shot out by turrets, and now we have to use this piece of junk again," the treasure hunter was not impressed. "This is even stranger than the _first time_ I visited Echo Creek."

"Listen, before we use this, we got to be careful how this thing works," Marco warned them. "Each time this bobsled takes on damage, one of us will get thrown off of it!"

"Say what now," Star and Andrew yelled in unison.

"That's right, and the size of this bobsled plays a factor in this," the Latino continued. "You see, the speed of this bobsled will decrease if I'm thrown off, the bobsled won't be able to jump if Star is thrown off, and we'll lose control of this bobsled if Andrew gets thrown off!"

"Yeah, this thing is a serious tool, so no treating it as a toy," Andrew huffed. "This goes _double_ for you Star!"

"What, since when do I treat everything as a toy," Star defended.

"Oh let's see, I can name a lot of things you used as a toy that wasn't supposed to be one." Andrew countered.

"Name one, I dare you."

"Gladly, one of them is-"

"Come on guys, we don't have time for _this_," Marco got them back on track. "Andrew's right, we have to treat this as an actual car and be careful not to hit anything! We have to make it through here _alive_, am I understood?"

"Yes Marco," Star sighed.

"In this case, let's get this over with," Andrew moaned as Marco got the bobsled moving and Andrew started to pilot the bobsled around the corners to the best of his abilities…

* * *

"You know you could have gotten us_** killed**_ with that reckless stunt you pulled Upsilon," Nebula scowled yet again, not at all impressed with how Upsilon blasted at the engine core and how they _barely_ made it out alive.

"I've already conveyed to you for the umpteenth time, it was the only method to ensure that we reach our designated location," Upsilon defended.

"But did it ever cross your processors that we could have _died_ in the process?"

"It was merely a seventy-five probability survival rate."

"That's a pretty high probability Upsilon!"

"And your point with this would be what Nebula?!"

"Come on, let's just end the discussion and say that Upsilon was quite useful," Janna wanted to cease the argument. "Although, we were only mere inches close to death and we barely got out alive..."

"Not to mention it was life-threatening," Nebula bellowed. If it was possible, Upsilon would have rolled his eyes.

"As if you haven't put the team's living status in jeopardy…"

"And what the heck are _you_ implying?"

"Ugh," Janna groaned as her partners were now arguing once again. Just when they were able to put up with each other within a few feet radius, this happens which caused Nebula to want to rip out Upsilon's main circuit that he's running on and it was only a matter of time before Nebula got caught in the crosshair courtesy of Upsilon's weapons.

It's as if they were at each other's throats again just like _before_ they formed this team.

"For goodness sake, this is getting pointless," Janna complained. "I just wish that this was already over…"

Janna continued to watch Nebula and Upsilon have their pointless argument as she stared at the gold bracelets from her pocket.

"I wonder…if she really has no memories to remember…then who is she? And am I doing this all for nothing?"

* * *

"Woohoo, I'm on a _train_, and I can't _complain_," Archibald was singing. "And you said that it wasn't possible Buff Frog."

"It vas only recommended that you shouldn't Archibald," Buff Frog rolled his eyes.

The Demonstrix members were in the same type of underground train tunnel that the other three teams had visited previously. They were more focused on getting out, finding the last 5 capsules, destroy them and get done with the mission...although Archibald was pretty ecstatic about riding on the train they were on currently.

"Alright, if I can guess correctly, this is the underground tunnel that these trains travel through," Tom muttered.

"That seems obvious, ve're almost to terminal vhere last 5 capsules should be located," scoffed Buff Frog. "Ve'll just have to ride to exit, hop off at terminal, bash the 5 capsules and vee can continue onward."

"Something tells me that it's not going to be that easy Buff Frog."

"Maybe not Tom, but it'll be vorth challenge."

"HEY GUYS, LOOK AT WHAT_ I_ FOUND!" Archibald called out to them.

Buff Frog and Tom's pupils shrank as they saw the gargoyle call out to them in front of the engine core.

"I think I found the engine core!"

"DON'T TOUCH IT ARCHIBALD!"

Too late, he _touched_ it.

_**BOOM!**_

"WAAAAHHH!"

Buff Frog, Tom, and Archibald found themselves screaming as they were sent skyrocketing out of the tunnel once the train exploded. They had narrowly escaped with their lives as the gargoyle was surprised that it exploded the way they did and that they made a daring escape.

"Man, how are we ever going to top _that _maneuver; it's gotta be a really dangerous stunt!"

"It vee are lucky, vee von't."

"Oh for crying out loud, how could this get any worse!?"

It just _did_, when they found themselves landing in a bobsled, as Buff Frog was in the drivers' seat, Tom was in the back needing to push the sled, and Archibald was hanging onto the handlebar to balance it and allow it to jump. Tom grunted as he had to push the bobsled to get it moving.

"We really have to stop tempting fate," he grumbled as the bobsled got moving…

* * *

"Oh great, we got _more_ monsters to deal with," Nebula got herself ready for the monsters that were in front of them.

"Well, _we_ know the drill," Janna sighed.

"Ludo's monsters: must eradicate!" Upsilon got prepared for battle too.

As Upsilon was firing away at the craw monsters and Janna was kicking and smacking her monsters with her hairdryer, Nebula had tried firing Dark Purple Fist Punches and the other spells that she relearned so far.

"Hmph, I wonder what else this wand can do…"

To answer her plea, the wand then fired out some dark looking crystals which served as daggers that pierced right through the monsters. This caused them to shriek as they were defeated and vanished into thin air. Nebula was taken aback by what she just did as she observed her wand for a second.

"Whoa, now what was that move that I just used?"

"Well Nebula, the move that you used was called Shattering Dark Crystal Launch," Janna smirked as Upsilon finished with his monsters. "It's another move that you used, although it wasn't as often as your Dark Purple Lightning Spear or your Dark Purple Fist Punch."

As Nebula was contemplating this information, Upsilon then blared and got their attention.

"My sensors have indicated that we are closing into the main hideout where Ludo is residing," Upsilon revealed as sarcastically as a robot could sound. Janna silently thanked him for that.

"Then there's no time to waste," Nebula huffed while sounding relieved that they are now making progress. "Let's get moving and show that Ludo who he's messing with!"

"You know, we'll have to give him some questions first," Janna offered.

"That would be the smart thing to do," Nebula eyed Upsilon so he would get the hint. Janna had expressed her exaggeration loudly, as Nebula took off with Upsilon catching onto what Nebula meant as he started to head off after her. Janna was once again trotting after them while shaking their heads.

"I just had to end up with a team of vicious vigilantes and renegades," she groaned. "I mean I would have loved to travel with Star, Marco, Andrew, and _even_ Jackie, but instead, I-"

"My apologies for interrupting your frustrated rant, but are you about finished." Upsilon interrupted.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming Upsilon…"

* * *

As Team Sparkle continued onward, they were still wondering why the train back there exploded the way it did when the engine core got hit by Daron's fake wand. Not only that, but they were also wondering where Ludo's hideout could be.

"You know Pony Head and Jackie, I still have to wonder how that train exploded when I hit it with my fake wand," Daron rubbed her temple.

"Eh, we'll never know for sure," Pony Head shrugged it off. "In any case, where is Ludo's hideout here?"

"Because the last time we ran into him, he ambushed us," Jackie brought up.

"In that case, we'll ambush him back this time around," Daron was determined.

"And how do you suppose we do that gurl," Pony Head looked curious.

"With my Star Butterfly instincts," Daron smirked. "Just follow me and I'll bring us directly to Ludo so we can let him know that we're not to be messed it."

"That'll tell him sistah," Pony Head gloated.

"Let's go find that Ludo," Daron motioned them to follow her. "So we can give him a piece of our minds, get your medallion and seashell necklace back, and I'll be able to impress Star and she'll be_ proud_ of me!"

"Oh, and Marco might end up_ kissing _Jackie as a bonus," Pony Head teased.

"Yeah, I know," Jackie was having trouble with blushing from being flustered. "Let's go find Ludo."

"Sure thing," the nerdy girl chimed.

The three of them then went into the direction that Daron's Star instincts told her to go, hoping that it'll bring them straight to Ludo…

* * *

Nebula led the charge as the other two were following her. But the only reason Upsilon was even trailing behind was because of previous debates. Janna tried to lighten up the mood as best as they could while grinding on the rails while throwing in a flirtatious comment which went way over Upsilon's head, since he's a robot.

But no matter what she tried to say, Nebula and Upsilon refused to converse with each other. It seemed like they were at odds against each other again.

The only thing that brought them on even ground, was the battleground when they were fighting monsters.

Janna then came to a halt as she saw the monsters in front of them. "Guys, it looks like we have a last minute ambush, and there are a lot of them!"

"Do they really think they have a chance?!" Upsilon dared.

"Outnumbered perhaps," Nebula started as she got out her green Miracle Gemstone and put it into her wand. This triggered Janna to get out her dark magic spell book and for Upsilon to activate his inferno cannon. "But they're still no match for _us: _Miracle Levitato!"

"I summon the Ominous Dreadful Black Magic Wave Blast!"

The moment that was set in motion did they perform Miracle Dark Inferno Blast; where Nebula froze the monsters, Janna plagued them with spooky images, and Upsilon open fired his inferno cannon and roasted them to a pulp. As soon as the effects of Miracle Levitato were up, the monsters were defeated as they disappeared without a trace.

"See, we may be able to handle our own," Janna worded despite how she was a human and couldn't handle things that they can. "But together, we're truly unstoppable."

Nebula and Upsilon remained silent, knowing that deep down, Janna was right. As Nebula and Janna put away their stuff, Nebula tilted her head and saw something in the distance.

"That must be Ludo's control tower!"

"You mean we're finally here," Janna gaped as she raced after her.

"Here we come, Ludo," Upsilon boomed, trailing right behind them…

* * *

"Brace yourselves guys!" Star cried out as Team Star was now riding through a tunnel on the bobsled. Andrew had to struggle with jerking the bobsled left to right just to avoid the incoming trains in front of them. Star got them to jump over a couple of bumps on the road. And Marco just made sure to keep the bobsled moving and not slow down for anything.

"It's a relief that none of us fell off," Marco exclaimed.

"Yes, but we're about to crash," yelled Andrew. A few seconds later, the bobsled collided with a wall that the three of them got out of in the nick of time. They were now soaring through the air past several canyons.

"Woohoo, you can't get a view like this anywhere else." Star whooped.

"You couldn't get a view like this if you were anybody else," Andrew muttered.

"Uh are any of you wondering where we're going to land," Marco sounded concerned.

"I'm pretty concerned about it myself," Andrew started to glide. "Star, if you wouldn't mind flying Marco over this area."

"Please do, before I fall and plummet to my death," the karate expert begged.

"Sure thing Marco," Star flapped her wings, grabbed Marco and flew off to safer grounds while Andrew glided after them. They floated over another turret, which was pointed away from a busy looking area.

"Hey, that must be Ludo's hideout straight ahead of us!"

"Alright, here we go," Star whooped. "You ready for this Marco?"

"Ready whenever you are Star," he said.

"That's all I needed to know."

The three of them then cannonballed downward, closing in on a dome that took the shape of Ludo's face. Star couldn't help but grin. "Well, what do you know? It looks like we found the center."

"And I thought those masks that Ludo was trying to sell to the people on Mewni were _ridiculous_," Marco rolled his eyes.

"No matter, let's crush it."

With Andrew having said that, Star, Marco, and Andrew proceeded to destroy the dome with nothing short of force, strength, and pure awesomeness.

"Goodness, if we were able to destroy that dome," Andrew started as they were standing on the spot the dome once was. "Then I'm pretty sure we could have destroyed that turret."

"Eh, maybe you're right," Star shrugged her shoulders. "But you gotta admit that this was really cool."

"Hmmm," Marco was lost in thought; not from how they were able to break through the dome, but the fact that it was made from some weak material. "This is wicked odd, why would Ludo have a hideout built with such weak material? Granted, the material was small, but why would he want to build a small hideout as well?"

"Probably because he's _short," _Star joked.

"Hey, I think I got a clear idea on a likely reason," Andrew was glancing up towards the sky.

"Is this really an idea, or is it something that I need to joke about," Star questioned. Andrew narrowed his eyes, grabbed Star and turned her around. A shadow cast over their heads as they saw it for themselves. This caused Star and Marco to frown.

"You know, maybe Ludo put all his material into building _that."_

"You know something Andrew, I think you might be onto something," Marco agreed with him as Star just stared at the abomination that was right above them.

"What the heck is that abomination?" Star quizzed.

"I don't know, but there's one way for us to find out," Andrew suggested. "Let's chase after it since Ludo is probably in that strange vehicle."

"That's probably our best course of action now," said Marco.

"Yeah Andrew," said Star. "Let's go after that mess!"

With that being decided, Team Star made their chase after the strange vehicle over their heads, convinced that Ludo is somewhere in that vehicle…

* * *

The Demonstrix had finally reached the end of the bobsled trip, although the bobsled didn't make it; that got smashed into a wall. Archibald got quite an ear-load from Buff Frog and Tom about touching something that could be hazardous. As such, Archibald wasn't in much of a good mood anymore.

"How long is this going to go on," the gargoyle whined. "We've seen nothing but canyons for miles."

"Vee might have finished had someone decided not to blow up train," Buff Frog grumbled.

"Hey, it was only a first time experience."

"We've reached our destination," Tom interrupted as there were the last five capsules in front of them. He managed to set the first four in flame. As he was about to destroy the last one, he felt apprehensive.

"Vat's holding you comrade Tom? Buff Frog got him to snap out of it as he landed a fire punch on the last one, leaving the five capsules destroyed.

"…nothing, just rather pointless pondering."

"So…what now," Archibald took in his surroundings.

Buff Frog said nothing as he held the talkie out as if expecting the client to call right on schedule. Then as he predicted, it vibrated and the client was heard on the other line.

"Good work boys, that'll show Ludo that we mean business!"

"Great," Tom muttered. "So now what do we do?"

"To be honest, I don't have anything yet. I can't make any hasty decisions until Ludo strikes again. Hmmm…"

Buff Frog and Tom exchanged glances as Archibald was waving his fists.

"However, since Ludo's main hideout has been destroyed, I suppose that he'll be looking for culprits," the client gave a suggestion. "Keep an eye out for him in the area while I devise something for you to do next."

The client then hung up as the Demonstrix knew what they had to do now.

"Vell, you know vat that means," Buff Frog motioned. "Let's go and scavenge this place to keep eyes open for suspicious activities."

"We're way ahead of you," Tom was with it.

"Yeah, let's go!" Archibald cheered.

The three of them toured the place for any suspicious activity while waiting to see if Ludo will strike again…

* * *

Team Dread had closed in onto the hideout's main tower, which was definitely still intact…but too bad that the dome wasn't, as it was _destroyed_ courtesy of Team Star.

"What," Nebula came to a stop. "What the heck happened here, how did this happen!?"

"It looks like _someone_ beat us here." Janna shrugged casually.

"However, my sensors have detected that Ludo is indeed nearby the perimeter. We must be close by." Upsilon announced.

Janna was about to go after him, but Nebula had other ideas. She slowly walked to the rubble of what was once the dome, with the remains crunching under her boots. A small spark caught the attention of her eyes that was buried underneath the debris. She crouched down and uncovered the object, which was a white glowing gemstone. It was revealing the white Miracle Gemstone which she picked up.

"Whoa, how did you find that," Janna's eyes grew into saucers.

"Sensors didn't even pick up its location." Upsilon blurted.

"I dunno," Nebula tossed it up and down in her hand. "I just kinda knew it was there."

_For a girl who is an amnesiac, she's still the same mysterious Nebula I remember. _Janna thought.

"Just be careful, you might get another crazed vision from looking into it." The Filipino warned.

"Well, I feel something again just from gazing into it, but I-"

Suddenly, something huge chose the moment to fly overhead, casting a shadow onto them. Nebula put the white Miracle Gemstone with the green Miracle Gemstone as she followed after the same vehicle Team Star witnessed.

"Let's move, that's gotta be Ludo!" Nebula roared.

Janna was trying to reach her hand out to stop her but realized that they had to stop Ludo, so she followed after her with Upsilon following behind her, blaring how Ludo must be eliminated.

From Janna's perspective, this next encounter with Ludo, especially with having found the white Miracle Gemstone, was bound to be interesting…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 11!**

**YES READERS. THIS CHAPTER SHOWS THAT THERE ARE NEBULA ANDROIDS BASED ON THE BLUEPRINTS LUDO HAD MADE OF A BRAND OF ANDROIDS, BASED ON WHAT THE DEMONSTRIX FOUND OUT!**

**ALSO, THE EXPLANATION TOM GIVES TO BUFF FROG AND ARCHIBALD KINDA MAKES SENSE REGARDING HOW STAR WAS DOING THOSE JOBS FOR THEM TO EASE HERSELF FROM THE DEATH OF NEBULA, CONSIDERING HE HAS SEEN AN ANGER COUNSELOR TOO! I DON'T KNOW IF THIS CLICKS, BUT THIS GIVES SOME HIDDEN DEPTHS TO HIM!**

**WELL, THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO EXPLAIN, SO YOU CAN REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE, AND JUST WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	13. Vulture Cannon Ship

**CHAPTER 12-VULTURE CANNON SHIP:**

* * *

Soaring through the skies in the canyon dimension was one heck of an abomination of a vehicle that Ludo was riding in. The vessel had three parts to it. The bottom part resembled that of a spider's abdomen with eight legs on it that contain some cannons on all eight legs on both sides. In addition to that, the abdomen also has a bunch of cargo underneath containing capsules of Nebula Androids and other particular shipments that'll aid Ludo in his plan. The central part was a vulture shaped blimp that contained more cannons on both sides. And at the very top was a reincarnated version of the Eagle Tank. Ludo was actually supervising the shipment in the Vulture Cannon Ship to make sure it gets where it needs to be. He actually had plans of leaving the Canyon Dimension in order to carry forth the third part of his plan. Sadly for him, he should have anticipated that the four teams that were after him since this started would have been onto the flying cargo ship eventually.

Team Sparkle was the first to have gotten up close to the Vulture Cannon Ship as they saw all the cannons, the cargo, and all the weaponry that was attached to it. Daron noticed that something was up on that ship.

"Hey girls, something is in that weird looking shipping," she yelped.

"You know, I betcha any money that mah medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace are inside one of those cargo holdings," Pony Head concluded.

"Never mind _that_, look up at the top," Jackie pointed. "That looks like the Eagle Tank we took down previously, and I think Ludo is in the cockpit seat."

"You know what that means," Daron smirked, getting out her fake wand. "Let's get that birdbrain and show him who he's messing with!"

"Right on sistah," Pony Head was all ready for battle. "Then we can get my medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace…"

"Star will see what I've done and will be so proud of me," Daron gushed. "Oh, and Marco might be proud of Jackie and give her a kiss in return."

"Yeah," Jackie shook her head. "Let's just take down Ludo."

"Right," Daron and Pony Head yelled as the three of them went after the Vulture Cannon Ship…

Ludo took notice of Team Sparkle and was furious that they were back for more. He completely turned it around to lower it to the ground so he could take aim at the girly team.

"Grrr, it's you three again! Don't you know when to stay out of my way," Ludo leered down, as he was gripping on the steering wheel so tight, he could have snapped it off. "I've got bigger and better things to take care of than you three, plus there's somewhere else that I need to be at the moment! But I suppose I'll make this quick!"

"Not if we make quick work out of _you_ first, Ludo! This'll show you that we three girls are as tough as Star and her pals," cried Daron, who was thrusting forward with her fake wand. "We got to take this thing down girls, so are you ready?"

"Gurl, I was _born_ to be ready," Pony Head sounded confident. "Let's take him down!"

"I'm ready when you two are ready dudettes," Jackie had a calm smile as she took out her skateboard and helmet and put the latter on her head and got onto the former with her feet.

"Great, let's catch him!"

And so the three girls made their chase after the aircraft. The Vulture Cannon Ship had fired several projectiles at them, but Daron jumped away with amazing acrobatics, Pony Head swish from one area to another in the air and Jackie had to swerve from left to right on her skateboard to dodge the projectiles. They were right underneath the aircraft as they proceeded to grind on the rails ahead of them. None of them knew how they could get started on dismantling this vehicle, so Daron instructed them to stand down until they find the right moment to strike back.

Instead of turning the aircraft around once again, Ludo decided to resort to flying backward. The grind rails came to an end, leading to them strolling through the ground again. Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie had to duck and jump over all of the blasts of fire, plasma, and huge spiked cannonballs and regular cannonballs that went right over their heads, especially Pony Head since she was flying.

"Ugh, we're never going to strike with those cannons firing those projectiles at us," Daron grunted. "I can't reach him from this height."

"That's not even important gurl," Pony Head tried to zap the cannons with magic energy, but they failed to even leave behind a dent. "These cannons are tough enough to withstand my magic!"

"Well what are we going to do," Daron ducked under another incoming cannonball.

Jackie was shown thinking as she dodged and ducked and jumped over all the projectiles that got onto her path. She examined the cannons for a bit and an idea formulated. Of course, she should have thought of this sooner. It might be the only way to disable the cannon's attempt at aiming for them. She just had to get it in motion with some help from Pony Head and Daron.

"Hey Daron and Pony Head, I think I have an idea as to how to get those cannons from firing at us," Jackie got their attention.

"Really," Pony Head and Daron eyed their skateboarding partner. "What is it?"

"If I can just get up close to the vulture beak on that blimp, I could use my skateboard to twist it and jerk the cannons and mangle them."

"But Jackie you'll fall off your skateboard by doing that," Daron was surprisingly concerned.

"Not a problem dudette," Jackie took out a remote and pressed a button to cause two straps to appear on her skateboard, getting both of her feet strapped in so she wouldn't fall out. "That's taken care of."

"But how are you able to reach up there and get those cannons mangled up?" Daron asked again.

"I'll have Pony Head escort me up there," Jackie turned to face their floating unicorn head companion. "Also Pony Head, do you think you could create a rope to have tied around my waist so you and Daron don't let me fall off?"

"I can _try_," Pony Head got focused and fired something from her horn towards Jackie's waist. Surprisingly, it caused a rope to appear already strapped around her waist with the other end loose.

"Awesome, this will work perfectly," Jackie smiled. "Anyway, once you bring me up there, you keep a grip on the other end of the rope and pull back with Daron's help so I can take care of the cannons."

"Right back at ya girlfriend," Pony Head smiled as she grabbed Jackie by the back of the shirt as she brought her up to the beak on the vulture shaped blimp before placing her on top of it and grabbing the other end of the rope. Ludo took notice of what Jackie was doing and laughed this off.

"You think you can stop me with a pesky _skateboard_," Ludo cackled. "This isn't a skateboarding rink you know!"

"Maybe not, but after we're done with you, you'll wish it was one," Daron jeered as Pony Head went back down to the nerdy girl with the other end of the rope in her mouth.

"Alright girls, now pull while I do this!" Jackie got ready to skateboard over the beak several times while Pony Head and Daron got a tight grip on the rope.

"Yeah girls, let little ol' Jackie _skateboard _my vehicle to death," Ludo wasn't taking this seriously. "I bet she'll make a good _trick_ outta that, ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Just you wait and see Ludo, I'll show you how much of a _pro_ I am with skateboarding," Jackie warned.

"He's going to regret not taking _us_ seriously," Daron shook her head as she and Pony Head pulled on the rope with all their might while Jackie skateboarded on the beak several times in place. Luckily, the girls were able to provide just enough strength to have Jackie snap the entire Vulture Cannon Ship upwards with her skateboarding trick, rendering the cannons unable to aim at them. This got Ludo to be shocked and speechless as Jackie got down by doing some freestyle air tricks before she landed on the ground safely.

"Yahoo, that was awesome!" She removed the rope.

"Awesome job Jackie, you did it," Daron ran up to her with Pony Head by their side. "Now those cannons will have trouble aiming at us!"

"It was my pleasure dudettes."

"By the way, how were you able to pull it off with a skateboard that is usually made out of wood?" Pony Head asked.

"Oh this skateboard isn't made from wood, it's made from steel," Jackie confirmed. "My uncle who works at that factory supplied a new skateboard that was made from steel so it would be less breakable. All the wooden skateboards I had were easily breakable, especially after that one time where Marco _broke _my skateboard."

"Wait, Marco broke your skateboard?"

"Yes, but it was nothing to worry about Pony Head, it was an accident," Jackie assured. "I know he didn't do it on _purpose_ and he was having a bad day with a black eye and several bruises while using a newspaper to cover his embarrassing t-shirt. Not to mention that bratty kid who was with him was getting on his nerves, so I can understand that he didn't _mean_ it."

"Bratty kid," Pony Head scrunched her face, not knowing who she was referring to.

"Wait, you're talking about Jeremy, right Jackie," Daron asked as Jackie nodded. "Oh, that kid is the worst. He is such a spoiled brat who always gets whatever he wants."

"Jeez," Pony Head cringed. "And I thought _I_ was a spoiled brat who gets whatever I want…"

"In any case dudettes, we got Ludo cornered," Jackie smirked towards Ludo. "Your cannons can't aim for us now!"

"Yeah, we got you now," Daron jeered which got Ludo to snap to and express his anger.

"Why you little brats, that wasn't supposed to happen," he snarled. "You girls ruined my cannons' aim coordinates!"

"Yes, and now it's our turn to strike you Ludo," Daron decided to return the favor with her fake wand out. "You ready to give me a lift up to Ludo Pony Head?"

"Way ahead of you sistah," Pony Head gave Daron a lift and flew her up towards Ludo to deliver payback while Jackie gave them a peace circle sign with her hands before skateboarding after the vessel.

Once Pony Head flew her up close, Daron jumped and landed right in front of the part Ludo was in and smacked her fake wand to leave a dent on the front cockpit and also smashed and destroyed two of the cannons on the sides. Pony Head jumped in and shot a green magic beam that left another dent on the side of the vehicle. This got Ludo to growl as he got the Vulture Cannon Ship to turn around and get back on track as Daron and Pony Head got onto the ground next to Jackie.

"We did it, girls," cheered Daron.

"But we aren't done yet gurl," Pony Head declared.

"Yeah, even though we messed up the cannons, the ship is still intact," Jackie pointed.

"But we've got him this time…did we not?"

"Daron, Ludo's trying to get away," Pony Head yelled.

"Even now I spent too much time toying with you runts," Ludo seethed back so they could hear him. "I didn't even leave a mark and you've already ruined two of my cannons!"

"Well, it serves you right for thinking you could _underestimate_ us Ludo!" Daron sneered.

"I'm also saving this energy for bigger threats," Ludo bellowed. "And to be honest nerdy girl, you aren't one of those threats."

"Well who is the threat: Team Star," Daron guessed. "Because if you must know, Star and her comrades Marco and Andrew will take you down at all costs no matter what the situation brings!"

"Yeah, B-Fly and her pals will finish you up!" Pony Head jeered.

"That's right, Marco had beaten you countless of times," Jackie sounded confident. "And he's sure to take you down again, along with Star and Andrew!"

"Huh, if you must know, they're not the only team I'm after!"

"You mean there are more than two teams Ludo?!" Daron was curious.

"I had a feeling that some other teams were after Ludo besides us and Star's group," Jackie murmured.

"But why would anyone else be interested in taking you down, you stupid jerk," Pony Head scowled.

"I must have a new fan club, but I'm just surprised that you three are out of the loop," Ludo aimed his fingers to a blue button. "Allow me to bring you up to speed."

The moment he pressed it did a giant cannonball land right below. Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie shrieked before getting out of the way in the nick of time. The resonating shockwave sent them back, leaving behind a gap between them and Ludo.

"Ludo, we'll get you for this!" Daron scowled, shaking her fist and glaring at him. "This _isn't _over!"

"Yeah, you'll pay for this jerk!" Pony Head joined in.

"That's telling him," Jackie retorted in agreement.

"Well, what can I say," Ludo chortled. "By the end of tomorrow, it will _be_ all **over** for the universe, ha ha ha ha ha!"

And thus, Ludo rode the Vulture Cannon Ship off, leaving Team Sparkle behind in the dust…

* * *

Nearby in another part, the Demonstrix members were doing what they were instructing; surveying the area to look out for suspicious activities courtesy of Ludo. They were surrounded by eerily silence, but Tom was straining his ears so he could pick up the slightest change in silence.

"I'm bored guys…"

Well, besides _that, _courtesy of their gargoyle companion.

"Do you have to do_ that_ Archibald," Tom groaned.

"Yes, it's quite _and_ boring," Archibald complained. "Why couldn't our client give us something _specific_ to do?"

"Because our assign is simple enough; find Ludo," Buff Frog shrugged. "Vee just gotta locate him."

"All cannons, open fire!"

That voice was one that they_ recognized_ as they froze.

"You guys heard that right," Tom asked. "That can only be one person…"

"Yup," Buff Frog nodded.

"One _bird_ to be precise," Archibald corrected.

They then saw the Vulture Cannon Ship flying over their heads with the cannons not being able to aim and two cannons at the top trashed courtesy of Team Sparkle. Buff Frog glowered at the aircraft and knew that was Ludo.

"Great, vat do vee do now?" Right after he asked that did the talkie roared to life and the client spoke to them.

"Ludo's secret weapons that he's planning to use on the universe must be aboard that ship," the client then commanded. "Destroy it before it reaches the canyons!"

"Yes, we'll get on it," Tom confirmed as the Demonstrix made chase after the ship.

"You know, it seems like client knows vhen to call us in certain predicaments."

"I know Buff Frog, but he probably has some method to know when we need him."

"If he does, that's really creepy, like All-Seeing Eye."

"I know," Tom deadpanned.

"Look, guys," Archibald took notice of how the cannons weren't able to aim at them. "There's something wrong with the cannons! They _aren't_ aiming at us!"

"Someone must have sabotage cannon's aim," Buff Frog deduced.

"Whatever the reason may be, we must take down Ludo," Tom told them as he created two fireballs in both of his hands. "Let's do this."

The demon tossed one of the fireballs at the Vulture Cannon Ship despite being a little ahead of them. The ball of fire got caught in one of the turbines which insinuated a malfunction. This got Ludo to take notice as he looked down below.

"What the heck was that? What now," Ludo grumbled as he looked down and saw the Demonstrix gaining on him. Great, another team was bent on stopping him from universal conquest. Letting out a scowl, he huffed. "Oh for goodness sake, it's those guys again! They seem to be earlier than anticipated."

"Stop right there Ludo," Tom tossed several more fireballs to the ship, which ended up leaving several dents and charred marks on the vehicle.

"Oh for Pete's sake, why do you monsters feel the need to get in my way!?" Ludo howled, retaliating with his own fireballs.

"Vell stop trying to aim for universal conquest, go back to your retirement from evil, and maybe you von't be bothered!" Buff Frog pointed out.

Ludo said nothing more as he fired more projectiles at him. Even though Team Sparkle sabotaged the cannon's aim, the projectiles were still launched and curving around to aim for the Demonstrix. They dodged them as Ludo was flying the Vulture Cannon Ship out of reach, with Tom continuing to hurl more fireballs at it. Aside from the occasional dent, they weren't doing much of an impact.

"How are we supposed to take it down at this rate," cried Archibald. "It keeps dodging out of our way!"

"You aren't supposed to take it down!" Ludo retorted. He slammed his hand on the blue button yet again, getting another giant cannonball to head for them. Tom and Archibald moved out of the way just as it landed right in front of Buff Frog.

The frog monster paused for a moment before he got an idea. Stretching out his arms, he proceeded to pick up the cannonball. Tom and Archibald were surprised by what he was trying to do.

"Buff Frog, there's no way you can pick that up," Tom stated as the shocked look in his three eyes showed just how determined Buff Frog was.

"Nonsense, if I can pick up fountain for my tadpoles, and big bag full of weapons and supplies, then this vill be cakewalk to lift," Buff Frog was confident, continuing to lift it up.

Then to Archibald's surprise, Buff Frog managed to pick up the cannonball and lift it right over his head.

And to Tom's surprise, Buff Frog managed to hurl the cannonball back at the Vulture Cannon Ship, giving Ludo a taste of his own medicine.

"See, I told you I had this, Comrade Tom," Buff Frog informed him. "The benefits of training in combat are paying off."

The cannonball managed to crash into the lower part of the ship; the spider's abdomen, which caused it to fall right off apart from the Vulture Cannon Ship. Ludo literally screamed as all the important cargo from that part crashed into the rails and platforms below, which damaged all the capsules with androids of Nebula and other weapons stored inside of it. Everything he had planned perfectly to make the trip had been foiled, and the reason for those plans were now tumbling towards the valley below, falling into the abyss. It was safe to say the supplies wouldn't be recovered now.

"Ugh, you're going to regret this, do you have any idea what you've done," Ludo sneered in aggravation.

"Uh…partially hinder your big plan to universal conquest?" Archibald took a wild guess. This caused Ludo to let out his pent up rage. Unfortunately, it came out like a hysterical laugh instead.

"Well, there's more to those where that came from; much more in fact," Ludo chortled. "In fact, you've hardly done a thing to hinder my big plan!"

What remained of the ship; the reincarnated Eagle Tank, the vulture shaped blimp and the main propellers underneath the blimp, managed to soar away before making a nosedive for the Demonstrix. This time it was Buff Frog and Archibald that jumped out of the way, while Tom landed right onto the aircraft.

"Hey Archibald," the demon called out while pointing to the vulture shaped blimp. "Don't you think it'll be time to show this blimp that your bite is _worse_ than your bark?"

_Ugh, I can't believe I said something so corny…_

"Right on Tom, I'm all over it!"

Archibald flew up to the blimp, leaving Buff Frog down below to keep the Avarian distracted as more miscellaneous projectiles were firing towards him. Tom continued to damage the vessel, one fireball after another until Archibald showed up and opened his mouth to land a bite onto the blimp.

The bite managed to make the blimp pop as it started to careen out of the air. This caused Tom, Archibald, and Ludo to be dragged down with it.

"Not one of your best ideas," Archibald muffled as he was still stuck on the blimp.

"No, it's still in progress," Tom jumped off the top part and approached the gargoyle. He grabbed Archibald and got his mouth unstuck from the blimp, causing him to fly back down to safety.

"That was a pretty cool looking vulture blimp," Archibald giggled at ground level as Tom levitated down next to him. "Too bad we had to destroy it!"

"Unbelievable, that's the second thing that wasn't supposed to happen today!" Ludo boomed. First Jackie had to sabotage his cannons with her skateboard, and now Archibald just popped his blimp down with his sharp pointy teeth. "It's not even noon yet and there's still a whole day before I can put my plan in action!"

"Ya mean plan hasn't been executed yet," Buff Frog guffawed, approaching his teammates.

"As far as you know," Ludo scoffed as he started to steer away. "I believe you monsters meddled enough for one day, don't you think?"

"Not until you've been brought down Ludo," Tom yelled while clenching his fists. "You will be put to a stop!"

"Well have fun with that, _demon_."

Without another word, Ludo separated the blimp from the remains of the Vulture Cannon Ship as he took off into the sky with what he had remaining. This got Buff Frog to scratch his head in confusion, before shrugging it off.

"Vell, at least that vill shut him off for now." He remarked as the Demonstrix watched Ludo getaway in what remained of his Vulture Cannon Ship…

* * *

Ludo was still trying to get to a safety point to get out of this dimension despite having his cargo wasted by the Demonstrix and his cannons were slightly mangled by Team Sparkle (in part thanks to Jackie). He knew that if he didn't get out soon, it would only be a matter of time before a certain long-haired girl-

"LUDO!" Nebula yelled, throwing herself onto what was left of the Vulture Cannon Ship.

Well, wrong long-haired girl, but she was _bothersome_ all the same.

"We got him," Janna yelled as she came to the scene with Upsilon. "Now let's capture him first, and then you can have your revenge, Upsilon!"

"Affirmative," Upsilon liked the proposition.

"We have to get him, no matter what, alright," Nebula stated while gripping onto the wing tightly. Ludo, who was already beyond annoyed, started steering recklessly in an attempt to shake Nebula off.

"What do you want with me now," the Avarian bellowed. "I already told you everything I know!"

_**"****ENOUGH WITH THE LIES LUDO!" **_Nebula only roared back before punching the wing of the vehicle, leaving behind a _massive_ dent in it. "You haven't told us the _whole _story, haven't you!?"

The Vulture Cannon Ship started to fly backward once again while shooting small but effective fireballs at Janna and Upsilon. While Janna had to backflip out of the way, Upsilon retaliated by hovering upward, activating his heavy artillery and stood his ground.

"Careful Upsilon," Janna cried out. "You don't want to hit Nebula!"

"Target sighted only on Ludo!" Upsilon started to open fire on the vehicle.

"…I guess I have nothing to worry about…" Janna huffed.

Meanwhile, Nebula was back on her feet and was cautiously approaching Ludo. Ludo was so focused on Upsilon and Janna that he almost forgot about Nebula.

Almost, but not completely, for just as Nebula closed in on him, the vehicle dove down and snapped back up, shaking Nebula off of the aircraft. Fortunately, Nebula opened up her wings and was still flying in the air.

"Huh, not what I was expecting, but at least I got you off my aircraft," Ludo shrugged before shooting more fireballs at Janna.

Janna was about to make Ludo pay for that with her hairdryer, but right before she could do anything, she had let her guard down long enough for one of the incoming fireballs to strike her right on the left leg. It left an impact as she felt a massive burn hit her on the left leg.

"Ah, my left leg!" Janna cried out as she was on the ground, unable to chase Ludo further. "Since when did _we_ become so careless!?"

Upsilon now meant business as he glowered at Ludo with those robot eyes, now preparing a full-frontal assault on the vehicle.

"Must eradicate immediately," Upsilon opened fire with everything he got, including missiles, lasers, flamethrowers, blasts of lasers and bullets on the vehicle, not showing any mercy.

Even though Nebula recoiled in the air from how Ludo shook her off, he did soar down to aid Janna with her left leg being injured by a fireball.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Janna tried bending her left leg, but it was still sore from the burn that Ludo left on it. "I mean it's just a small burn. It'll heal."

"But you can't walk with that leg, can you," Nebula had to double check with the Filipino. The look on her rather pouty face was enough of an answer for the dark girl.

"Hold up, I'll take care of it," Nebula got out the white Miracle Gemstone she just found. "And I'll use this to do the job."

Janna was speechless as Nebula took a glance towards Upsilon still assaulting the Vulture Cannon Ship with everything he got. Seeing that Upsilon was holding Ludo off, Nebula was about to do the unspeakable to heal Janna's left leg.

However, before she could do it, she ended up gazing into the gemstone and received another vision from it.

* * *

_"Hey Nebula, what do you think life is like in the other dimensions in the universe: specifically in a place like Mewni?" A young Avarian girl named Victoria asked._

_"The professor said that all of his life's works were __**dedicated**__ to everyone who lived on Mewni, as well as everyone else that existed throughout the universe," Nebula told her. "He once told me that the reason for his research was to help in ceasing the ongoing war between Mewman and Monsters on Mewni, as well as wanting to benefit the rest of the universe, and making other people __**happy**__ through the power of magic and science combined."_

_"Nebula…"_

_"Victoria, I…I just don't know anything anymore... I often wonder why I was created and what my purpose is for being here… Maybe one day, if I can go travel throughout the universe, and visit Mewni, I might find __**all**__ of the answers…maybe…"_

_Nebula then closed her eyes and looked downward, having grown more somber and depressed._

_"Victoria…"_

* * *

That wasn't all she saw. There was another vision she was given, but this one was best described as a 'gruesome image'. A look of horror crossed Nebula's eyes as she thought she saw an arrow being fired in the back of an innocent Avarian. Essentially, she was brought out of her thoughts when Upsilon started blaring about how Ludo shall be terminated at all costs. She also noticed Janna letting out a whimper, which got her focused again.

"I just hope this works. It's now or never," Nebula placed the white Miracle Gemstone onto the burn on Janna's leg. The nightmare loving girl felt tense when the gemstone touched her, but she felt the Miracle Gemstone coursing through her. This got her to relax and in a matter of seconds, the leg was healed from its burn.

"Awesome," Janna gawked as she could move her left leg again. "Nebula, how did you know how to do that!?"

"Well it's like you said, these gemstones _can _cause miracles to happen," Nebula worded before placing the gemstone in Janna's hand. "I think it's best if you hold onto it, Janna. You are the one who started this team, and besides, I already have one."

"I…I don't know how to thank you for this," Janna sounded sincere.

"No need to. After all, we're wasting time," Nebula motioned her to Ludo and Upsilon in front of them. "We can think about this later, but I need you to walk and be able to finish the job as I fly you in close."

"But what about capturing Ludo?" Janna queried.

Nebula glanced away. "He already appears to be irritated. We're not going to be able to get anything out of him in this state. But we're not done yet, so don't let your guard down."

"I got it," Janna got out her hairdryer while Nebula picked her up and flew her up towards Ludo. "You be careful too."

"Trust me, I will."

Upsilon stopped firing his weapons just to reload for a second round. "Secondary wave approaching: prepared to attack."

"Easy there Upsilon, that will do," Nebula got him to stand down as she got close to the Vulture Cannon Ship with Janna in tow. "I have a feeling that attacking him anymore won't be necessary."

Ludo was still firing away with the weapons he had when Janna came up close to the ship thanks to Nebula. The nightmare loving girl managed to avoid the projectiles before jumping down and landing right in front of Ludo, with her hairdryer in her hands.

"What, you came back for more you runt?"

"No, just a parting gift before you leave," Janna delivered a swing with her hairdryer, which left behind another massive dent on the ship. "That will teach you not to mess with us, just like the time you _ruined_ my séance."

Before he knew it, Janna jumped off and did a backflip towards her teammates, who were both on the ground again.

Ludo's ship was now spiraling out of control as he was having trouble maintaining it, having been beaten by three teams today was three times too many.

"Did you forget who I am Ludo," Nebula huffed while she watched him fly away in a pathetic attempt. "This would have been easier if you had just told us what we wanted to know…"

"Large cannon weapon transporter Aves shaped battleship: destroyed!" Upsilon declared as they watched what was left of the Vulture Cannon Ship take off ahead of them…

* * *

Of course, by this point, Ludo's brutal butt-kicking by the three teams he least expected to hinder him wouldn't be complete until insult to injury was added to the mix: running into Team Star, the main team of heroes.

Team Star had been looking for the Vulture Cannon Ship in its complete form ever since they saw it soar overhead. What they got instead was a torn up ship that looked like it just returned from war and it was a huge mess.

"Star, look at _that_," Marco cried out and pointed to the badly beaten ship.

"Okay, that can't be the same ship we saw earlier," Andrew shook his head. "What the heck happened to it?"

"I dunno for sure," Star smiled as she got out her wand and started to fly after it. "But let's finish it off!"

Andrew rolled his eyes, having expected that. "Of course…"

Grabbing Marco, Andrew glided off after Star to finish off Ludo's vehicle.

Ludo was completely oblivious to Star rocketing right towards him; he was so close to a part that he could cut through a portal and into another dimension. He only had to go a little bit further-

"LUDO, YOU'RE FINISHED!" The Princess of Mewni shouted.

Oh, so _close._

Star then summoned a Rainbow Blast at the remains of the vehicle, hindering his last attempts at escaping. Ludo knew he couldn't escape now, and by this rate, he looked just about ready to throw in the towel.

Star landed on the vehicle right in front of Ludo where Marco and Andrew joined her on the vehicle as they started in the Avarian's eyes.

"Aw, what's the matter Ludo," Star sounded cocky with a smirk. "Did you get _owned _by Daron and Pony Head?"

"Yeah, and did Jackie leave you _butthurt_ too," Marco also had a smirk when he asked that.

"With that kind of damage, I wouldn't be surprised if the Demonstrix beat up Ludo and his poor excuse for a vehicle too," Andrew had a smirk of his own crawl onto his face.

"Oh shut up," Ludo scowled, not even coming up with a one-liner, as he slammed the blue button yet again to fire a cannonball from right behind them. As Star and Marco got out of the way, Andrew looked confident and revved up his fists.

Then just on cue, Andrew went and punched the cannonball where it stopped in midair before splitting in half shortly afterwards. Andrew smirked before turning to face Ludo again, with Star and Marco whistling in awe, approaching their treasure hunting companion.

"Woohoo," Marco was impressed.

"That's what Andrew brings to the party," Andrew boasted as he did an air fist with his right hand.

"Too bad this party's half over," Star cocked before getting out her wand again. She had a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Say, Marco and Andrew, what do you say we bring this party up to speed?"

"I couldn't have agreed more, Star," Marco got into karate position.

"It would be a waste if we didn't tear up the rest of this vehicle once and for all," Andrew cracked his knuckles. "Let's put this ship out of its misery."

"Please no," Ludo suddenly pleaded, getting them to jump. "I've already had been butt owned by _three_ other teams today!"

_This_ got Star interested as she gasped.

"Wait a minute, _three_," Star's eyes were as large as saucers. "There's _one other team_ out there besides us, Daron with Pony Head and Jackie, and the Demonstrix?"

"Yes," Ludo growled. "Jeez, all twelve of you have been everywhere in the exact same time period and you aren't aware of the others' existence? Daron, Pony Head _and _Jackie were way out of the loop!"

"Dang Ludo," Andrew started. "You must have quite the fan-club if you have all these people after your hind."

"Oh so now you're whipping out _witty_ insults," Star simpered. "I thought I was the _only one_ who did that!"

"Well, I have my moments too you know."

"And I don't have time for this!"

By this point, Ludo's throat was surprisingly sore from all the shouting he did today. He just needed to get back to his dimension, where he could regroup and come up with an alternative plan…

"Star, don't you think it's odd that this ship had lasted this long," Marco rubbed his temple. "Something's not right here, even though it has been trashed by nine other heroes; three of which we don't even know who they are yet."

"Well, it wouldn't be an exciting finale if we weren't there!" Star cheered with her wand in her grasp.

"Now are we going to do the Star Butterfly Overdrive or what," Andrew was wondering.

"I'm ready when you guys are," Star chirped.

"We're on it!"

Andrew grabbed Marco by the legs who grabbed Star by the legs, as they started spinning around a few times. The treasure hunter then let go of the karate master and Mewni princess as they were about to finish off the Vulture Cannon Ship.

"There's only one direction that you'll be going on this one-way street Ludo…and that's _down!" _Star declared just as Marco delivered a swift kick, sky-rocketing her all around the vehicle.

As soon as she shouted 'blast away', Ludo cried out in agony as he knew this was it. His vehicle was pelted by cutesy bugs, diamonds, narwhals, mini-unicorns, cupcakes and rainbows which made more dents. Star was about to make the final blow.

"Now for the grand finale: **THERMONUCLEAR BUTTERFLY BLAST!"**

_**"****NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_ Ludo howled. This was _officially_ it.

The vehicle then started exploding all over as it was going to crash.

"Take that Ludo," Marco cried out in a pose.

"That's right! You'll never be able to defeat _us_!" Andrew shook his fist in wholehearted agreement.

Smoke then emerged on the vehicle that began to form large clouds. Ludo threw his hands back and roared in defeat.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" However, instead of ejecting himself from the Vulture Cannon Ship, he went down with it, which was about to crash nearby.

"Ludo, you know you _can't _win, especially when you're _against _Team Star," Star shouted as she and her partners watch the vehicle crash into a nearby canyon, resulting in an explosion that they noticed along with the three other teams in that dimension…

* * *

"Girls, did you just see the explosion that occurred in the distance?" Daron asked as she pointed in the direction that it was in.

"Yeah, I saw it too, gurl," Pony Head was on edge upon hearing that explosion.

"Same here," Jackie reacted calmly. "Do you suppose that it was Ludo's airship that crashed in the distance?"

"Probably was," the floating unicorn head spoke. "I bet B-Fly sent Ludo packing and he crashed in the distance."

"There's only one way to find out," Daron declared. "Let's go check it out!"

The three girls headed in the direction that the explosion took place. As they were heading there, Pony Head was wondering if their belongings were damaged in the explosion.

"I sure hope that our belongings weren't damaged from that explosion," Pony Head whined.

"I sure hope so too," Jackie sounded nervous as if her seashell necklace held some kind of _secret_.

"Oh, I think we have another problem to deal with besides your belongings getting damage," Daron noticed they had approached the crash site. "Look over there!"

She pointed and it did show the Vulture Cannon Ship, now made up of debris and charred smoke. It had exploded with Ludo going with it. Daron looked horrified for a second, only for it to be replaced with anger as she pulled out her fake wand upon seeing Ludo on the ground in an unconscious state.

"Well, looks like our revenge had come a little _early_," Daron smiled as she approached the knocked out Ludo. Too bad she didn't catch the fact that he was smiling.

It was then Ludo's face popped out of the chest; jack-in-the-box style as it had the goofiest grin. This caused Daron to jump and drop her fake wand.

"_Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" _A tape-recorded laugh was heard. That's right. The Ludo they were after was fake.

Now Daron was irritated again as she shook her fists.

"Hey," she shouted. "This isn't the real Ludo! It's a _fake_ copy!"

The fact that one of its eyes sprung out didn't make Daron feel any better.

Meanwhile, Pony Head was searching through the rubble to find her medallion, but to no avail. It was nowhere to be found, as was the seashell necklace.

"Oh gurls, I can't find our belongings anywhere," Pony Head sounded pretty upset. "Maybe we _should _just _give up_ since we'll never find _them_ at this rate…"

It was clear that rainbow color tears were forming in the floating unicorn head's eyes. Jackie took notice of this and felt bad. She then tried to reassure her.

"Hey Pony Head, try to pull it together," she told her. "Just because we didn't find our belongings here doesn't mean we can't find them elsewhere in another dimension. Even if Ludo didn't have them in this ship, that's not to say they could be lurking around somewhere else."

"You mean _that_ Jackie," Pony Head sniffed.

"Of course dudette," the skateboarder girl promised. "I promise you that whatever it takes, we'll find your medallion _and_ my seashell necklace."

"Yeah, I guess your right," Pony Head shook the tears off.

"Jackie _is_ right Pony Head," Daron turned to face her teammates as she came up with a theory, picking up her fake wand. "Besides, I came up with this possible theory that this was probably a burglary from someone that is residing in another dimension."

"But _why_ though." Jackie looked confused.

"I dunno, but I bet you girls that Ludo definitely has something to do with it, and we won't let him get away with it," Daron declared, putting her fake wand away. "Now what do you say that we leave this dimension and head to the next one?"

"Sounds cool to me Daron," Jackie smiled.

"Sure thing gurl," Pony Head got out her dimension scissors. "Let's get going and keep up the search for our belongings."

"That's the spirit Pony Head," Daron and Jackie encouraged.

Once Pony Head cut open a portal, Daron entered first with Jackie following afterwards with her skateboard and helmet pocketed. Pony Head took one last glance at the fake Ludo before entering too. Once they went through, the portal vanished and Team Sparkle had left for the next dimension…

* * *

After Team Sparkle departed, the Demonstrix came to the scene after hearing and seeing the explosion too. Being the detective agents they are, they decided to investigate before their mysterious client gives them another cryptic mission. When they saw the fake Ludo as Team Sparkle left it, they were shocked as Buff Frog came to an assumption.

_So Ludo must have cloned himself in addition to cloning Nebula…_

Not wanting to share that, he just congratulated Tom and Archibald with taking care of Ludo.

"Vell, good vork comrades," he praised them. "Guess that Ludo was fake Ludo after all."

"Of course it was," the client suddenly said which got the Demonstrix surprised.

"Huh?" They shared a collective gasp as the client cleared his throat to correct himself.

"Uh, I mean…ahem, listen closely," the client gave instructions. "There's a jungle dimension just past that canyon dimension. You must go there immediately and wait for your next assignment."

"Got it," Buff Frog responded before pocketing the talkie and they walked away from the fake Ludo. As they are doing that, Archibald wasn't sure which was stranger: the fact that their client speaks to them at certain inconvenient times, or the fact that he knows so much about Ludo. Wanting to voice himself, he then spoke.

"You know guys, our client sure knows a lot about Ludo," Archibald shared as he hovered around Buff Frog and Tom.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Tom closed his eyes. "Our client is most likely an agent, or maybe a relative of Ludo's."

As Buff Frog got out his dimension scissors, he felt like throwing his comment into the ring too.

"Strangely enough," he started while cutting open a dimension portal. "I had the same weird feeling about our clients' _**REAL**_ identity. It could be '_you-know-who_'..."

"Mhmm," Tom and Archibald nodded.

With that in mind, the three of them entered the portal that disappeared once they entered, heading to the jungle dimension. They were unaware that Team Sparkle was heading to that same dimension…

* * *

Team Dread arrived at the scene next and they were less impressed by the fake Ludo than the other two teams. Janna, in particular, was rather peeved off, even more so than Upsilon who was shaking his hand in rage and swearing up a storm as to what he wants to do to Ludo for playing such a trick on them.

Nebula would have been wallowing in anger, but she wasn't because her gaze was caught by something that Team Sparkle and the Demonstrix seemed to have missed. It was cast off to the side and had poured out of a capsule contained in the Vulture Cannon Ship, but had fallen astray when the under section snapped off.

Said object was revealed to be the torso of a Nebula Android, which got several more mixed emotions running through her mind as it rested on the ground. Nebula gazed silently at it, not taking her eyes off of it for a minute.

Janna then saw what Nebula was looking at and felt her heart start to break into two.

_"N-Nebula…?"_ She started to ask, but she couldn't find the courage to ask her about it.

Nebula shook her head and wanted to leave this dimension.

"Let's go and leave this dimension," she said hastily, wanting Janna to use her dimension scissors.

The Filipino cut open a dimension portal and once it was opened, Nebula stormed right into it without turning back. Upsilon entered the portal afterwards, as Janna was going to enter too. However, before she could, she looked up to the sky and held those gold bracelets in her hands. It looked like tears were starting to form.

"Star…I know you're out there, and if you're able to trigger something, _anything, _it'll mean _a lot_ to me…" She faltered. "But…if you _can't_…I'll understand…I'll just have to accept the _worst_ then…"

Putting them back into her pocket, she then entered the dimension after her teammates, where the portal disappeared shortly afterwards. Team Dread was heading to the same dimension as the other two teams…

* * *

Team Star was the last to see the wreckage of the Vulture Cannon Ship and saw the fake Ludo too. However, unlike the previous teams, this one started to talk when they approached it.

"_Ha ha ha ha ha, once again, you fools have been tricked!"_

"It's a fake," Marco yelled dramatically as he was not expecting this. Neither was Star or Andrew.

"_From these canyons, watch as I conquer the universe with my **air fleet**, and this time, you can't stop **me!**"_

Star, Marco, and Andrew looked up and saw several battleships taking the shape of different varieties of birds soaring overhead. It was as if they were literally a flock of birds. This air fleet was the one that was stored underneath Ludo's castle…until now that is.

"Drat, it was a trap to stall for time," Star grunted as she shook her fist as she watched the airships enter another dimension. Taking out her dimension scissors, she stormed off and created a dimension portal as she felt she was being used. Once the portal was open, she stormed through without looking at her partners. Andrew saw her storm off and went after her through the portal.

"Wait, Star," he called before entering the portal too.

The portal remained opened as Marco was examining the fake Ludo for himself. There was something about it that caught the Latino's attention.

"It's not the _real_ Ludo after all," he mused. "But if this isn't the real Ludo, then where is he? Is he aboard one of those airships we just saw past by us?"

Marco decided to leave it at that as he saw that Star and Andrew entered the portal that was still behind him.

"Hey Star, and Andrew! Wait for me!" Marco hollered as he entered the portal after them. Once he entered, the portal vanished and Team Star was heading to the same dimension the other three teams have gone to.

Something that none of the teams witness though, was that the fake Ludo dissolved into silver goop as a menacing looking robot emerged from the goops, bearing some similarities to Star. This strange creation then made this declaration.

"_All life-form data: successfully copied..."_

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 12!**

**YEAH, READERS, WE HAVE JUST ABOUT REACHED THE MIDWAY POINT, AND WE'RE GETTING TO THE GOOD PART OF THE STORY NOW! **

**I THINK THIS BOSS CHAPTER WAS AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE EAGLE TANK, ESPECIALLY WITH THE ENDING ON WHO MIGHT BE _BEHIND_ THIS PLOT, AS HINTED IN THE FIRST CHAPTER. **

**ALSO, I HAD NEBULA GET ANOTHER FLASHBACK FROM ONE OF HER MOMENTS WITH VICTORIA FROM THE FIRST STORY I DID SINCE IT'S IMPERATIVE FOR NEBULA TO GAIN HER MEMORY BACK! AND BY THE WAY, THE 'GRUESOME IMAGE' IF YOU MUST KNOW HAPPENS TO BE THE MOMENT VICTORIA THE AVARIAN GOT SHOT IN THE BACK BY THAT ARROW. JUST WANTING TO LET YOU READERS KNOW!**

**HEH HEH, I AM GOING TO ENJOY THE NEXT CHAPTER AND SO, SINCE IT'LL REVEAL A BACKSTORY FOR JACKIE; A CHARACTER I FEEL WAS UNDERUTILIZED IN THE SHOW EVEN AFTER BECOMING MARCO'S GIRLFRIEND. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT'LL BE, WELL IT'LL BE REVEALED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**FOR NOW, YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU WANT, AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER TO BE POSTED!**


	14. Jungle Dimension I

**CHAPTER 13-JUNGLE DIMENSION I:**

* * *

"_I shall find the answer to who I really am…"_

Nebula muttered that to herself as the dreadful team was the first to have arrived in the jungle dimension. The area around them was vastly green and there was an abundance of plant life around them, ranging from trees, vines, flowers, mushrooms, ivy, and much more. There were also some animals exclusive to this jungle dimension, but they were vastly overshadowed by the monsters that had invaded the jungle dimension.

Nebula, Janna, and Upsilon were swinging on some of the vines through the trees until they made it to land. Of course, once they touched the ground, they were greeted towards several Craw monsters.

They were the last things that they wanted to see right now…well, except for Upsilon, who did what he does best.

"Exterminate and destroy," Upsilon blared before firing away at a couple of the monsters. "Assimilate all of Ludo's monsters."

"I have to wonder why you enjoy saying _that_ all the time," Janna smacked another Craw monster with her hairdryer.

Nebula decided to take a break from fighting this one time. After that encounter with that Nebula android in the canyon dimension, she felt that she should sit this fight out. As such, she walked away and took a good look at her surroundings. There was a lot of jungle life that was surrounding her and it surprised her. She had to wonder why she had never been in a jungle before, not like she remembers the one time she trekked through an actual jungle.

It was then her eyes were caught something in the distance below. The creature that she saw, in particular, was revealed to be a mermaid, lying on a rock near a body of water. This got her to jump.

"Whoa, what the heck…" Nebula was bewildered as she drifted from her team and got a closer look at the enchanted mermaid. Janna noticed Nebula looking and saw what she was looking for.

"Yes Nebula, that's a mermaid over there in the distance," Janna smirked. "According to ancient legends, in this dimension, when they sing their enchanted song, they make it rain and help plants in this jungle to grow."

"Huh," Nebula gave her a look that showed she didn't believe her. "You have to be kidding me."

"No, I am not," Janna shook her head as Upsilon joined them after the latest monster thrashing. "These mermaids make it rain when they see you and sing their song."

"Illogical: a strange human-like woman with fish-shaped tails down from the waist called mermaids have the ability to trigger accumulation when their singing is heard," Upsilon said as if it was questioned. "Impossible: such an occurrence is unidentifiable and mermaids are non-existent beings-doesn't compute in the slightest."

"Upsilon has a point," Nebula snorted. "Mermaids that make it rain is utterly ridiculous and preposterous."

"Alright then," Janna shook her head. "Suit yourselves. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

With that, Janna ran off as Nebula and Upsilon followed behind her, with Nebula still denying how mermaids can make it rain.

"I just can't believe it," Nebula grunted. "Mermaids that can sing and make it rain is such an extraordinary feat, that it shouldn't be possible."

"That's what they also say about you who is the ultimate life form and has all the ultimate powers stored inside of your wand."

"No one asked you Upsilon."

Janna wasn't paying attention to them. Instead, a thought crossed her mind.

_I think seeing mermaids would be something Jackie would get a kick out of. Sometimes I wonder if she is part mermaid._

With that, they continued through the mysterious jungle…

* * *

Team Sparkle had entered the jungle next as they also got a good look of where they are. They had swung from a couple of vines and were now walking along the jungle floor. After doing some observing of the place and witnessing some beautiful mermaids in the distance, Daron came to the excellent conclusion that she shared with her teammates.

"I think I understand it, girls," she snapped her fingers. "The reason why this dimension feels so mysterious is that there are many beautiful mermaids living here. And I believe that they have some _magical_ power."

"Yeah, go figure," Pony Head sounded like she knew that already.

"Specifically in this dimension, the mermaids here have the magical power to make it rain whenever they sing an enchanted song upon catching sight of someone, making the sight wicked radical dudettes," Jackie sounded like she was a huge expert on mermaids.

"Whoa gurl, how do you know about these mermaids," Pony Head gaped as Daron was shown thinking.

"I might know a lot of things about mermaids," Jackie smiled sheepishly. "I actually read these history books about mermaids."

"Yeah, I kind of expect that from Jackie," Daron quirked. "Since she has such a strong fascination for mermaids and such, as I've witnessed several times."

"You know it dudette," Jackie smirked. "Let's go explore this jungle, and maybe if we're lucky, we might run into a couple of mermaids."

"Okay Jackie, if that's what you want," the floating unicorn head was alright with it. "Just as long as it might help with finding my medallion and your seashell necklace, okay?"

"I think it might help us after all," Jackie went back to smiling nervously as they went through the jungle. Daron was shown looking at Jackie's reaction and realizes that there's definitely something about her that she doesn't know, and it has something to do with mermaids.

_It seems that Jackie has a secret, and it must have something to do with mermaids…_

Keeping it quiet for now, they went through parts of the jungle…

* * *

**"SAY WHAT NOW,"** The three Demonstrix members yelled in unison as they were trekking through the jungle too. Their client had given them their next mission, but they couldn't believe what it was.

"Again, this is _your _next mission," the client was starting to sound irritated. "The dimension that you are in harbors some mermaids that reside in it. Whenever they catch sight of you, they'll sing an enchanted song and make it rain, allowing you boys to be exposed. So your next mission is to get to the rendezvous point that I gave you without being detected by the mermaids."

Before the client hung up, Tom snatched it and suddenly bellowed.

"ARE YA CRAZY," Tom was clearly peeved off. "Wanting us to get through parts of this jungle dimension without being caught by some mermaids that make it rain!? What, does the _real_ Ludo speak mermaid or something!?"

"Hehehe, funny you should mention _that_…" The client laughed nervously as he was about to reveal something, but he never revealed it. They took notice that he wasn't revealing it and wanted to know.

"Mention what exactly?"

"Oh never mind, just forget it," the client brushed it off. "Just get to the rendezvous point without being spotted by the mermaids, and that's final!"

Feeling like he got his point across, the client hung up as Tom was gritting his teeth.

"Relax comrade Tom," Buff Frog got Tom to cool it. "This is probably just part of test, and client is just using mermaids as the safest alternative."

"Come on Tom, Buff Frog is just saying that because as a result of training in the field of _espionage_, he is more than confident with getting by these mermaids with no problem."

"That's right, and I…vait, vat Archibald!?"

"Well let's go you guys," Archibald encouraged. "Those mermaids aren't going to disappear anytime soon you know."

Archibald flew ahead of them as Buff Frog and Tom rushed after him to make sure he doesn't get caught.

"I'm just surprised that he knew vat espionage means." Buff Frog blinked.

"Let's just get this over with." Tom sighed as they went through while trying to avoid the mermaids…

* * *

"…and thus the main trio of heroes, consisting of Star, Marco, and Andrew made it into the jungle dimension where there are a lot of plant life, huge vegetation to swing on, and mermaids everywhere that can make it rain whenever someone is spotted by it and it sings a beautiful song." Star had finished a monologue as they had entered the jungle and swung on a couple of vines.

"Star, that was _completely _unnecessary," Andrew grumbled.

"What, I was just setting the mood so we can know where we have to go," Star defended.

"Speaking of which, Marco why did we come here?" Andrew questioned.

"It's simple, we saw Ludo fleet of battleships enter this dimension not too long ago and they are currently soaring in the north direction." Marco pinpointed.

"Well that makes it much simpler," Andrew groaned. "At least we're in an area that makes me feel like I'm back on my island."

"We know Andrew," Star deadpanned as they landed on the ground and saw several mermaids in the distance, just as Star said. As he observed them, a thought just clicked in Andrew's mind as he felt like cracking up.

"Hey you know Marco, wouldn't it be a surprise if Jackie turned out to be a mermaid," the treasure hunter chuckled with his arms crossed.

Instead of reacting appropriately, Marco looked thoughtful about what Andrew said.

"I dunno Andrew, I don't doubt for a second that Jackie isn't part mermaid," the Latino expressed. "It's possible that she is, based on all the mermaid motifs that she has, including her orange seashell necklace. There was that one beautiful dress she wore when she took me to the school dance, but due to how poor that looked, she took me out on a date instead, in the park."

"Wow. That must have been amazing."

"It was Andrew," Marco smiled at the memory. "Jackie taught me how to skateboard a little, and we even shared our _first kiss _that night."

"Amazing dude," Andrew was intrigued.

"Another sign that she could be a mermaid was this one time we went out on a date when Star was missing for five months where she took several live lobsters in one of the restaurants and had the both of us toss them back into the ocean where they could be freed and liberated back to where they belong."

"Yeah, because mermaids also have the power to communicate and feel associated with underwater life," Andrew smirked. "We have plenty of _that_ on my island."

"I know, I saw it before," Marco nodded.

"Hey you two, if you don't mind, I'd like us to get a move on and explore this dimension since we're here," Star shouted. "We could run into a mermaid or two while we're at it."

"Sure thing Star," Andrew sighed. "We might as well, shouldn't we Marco?"

"Yeah, let's get going."

"And besides you two, Ludo isn't being left off the hook this time!"

Once Star shouted that statement, Marco and Andrew nodded. It was then Team Star ventured through the jungle dimension too as they were hoping that they would keep themselves on the tail of Ludo's fleet of bird-shaped battleships…

* * *

Team Sparkle had explored quite a bit of the jungle dimension. It wasn't long before they came across their first mermaid in the flesh. Daron and Pony Head were in awe and gawking at the beauty of the mermaid that was in front of them. Sure Pony Head had met some mermaids in her spare time, but none were as enchanting as this. By contrast, Jackie simply approached the mermaid casually and waved at the mermaid.

"Hello there," she sounded like she was adapted to it.

The mermaid spoke in a mermaid language but waved back and exchanged a similar greeting to Jackie. Now Daron and Pony Head were wicked surprised. Since when did Jackie know how to communicate with mermaids, and how did she act like she was meant for this.

"Jackie gurl, did you just speak to that mermaid," Pony Head was wide-eyed.

"That I did," Jackie nodded. "And the mermaid said _hello_ to me back."

"I don't understand," Daron was wrapping her head around this. "How are you capable of speaking mermaid Jackie?!"

"Ha, well the funny thing is that I happen to be one of them." Jackie was confident when she revealed it.

Beyond surprised, the nerdy girl and the floating unicorn head felt their heads rattle and smoke like a train from what Jackie just revealed to them.

"Whoa Jackie, your _actually_ a mermaid?" Daron gaped.

"Well, technically I'm not a mermaid," she continued. "But my great-great-great grandmother was a mermaid who came to Earth from another dimension, fell in love with a human male and they gave birth. Thus I have some mermaid blood in my heritage."

"So that means…?" Pony Head wasn't able to finish.

"That's right; I'm half mermaid, _and_ half human," Jackie finished for her.

"So that would explain why she has such a fascination for mermaids," Pony Head started to figure it out.

"And why she knows so much about them," Daron was surprised.

"Here's another thing you should know about me," Jackie made another reveal. "The orange seashell necklace that we're looking for isn't just an ordinary seashell necklace. It's actually a mermaid family heirloom past down to me by my great-great-great grandmother."

"SAY WHAT," her partners yelled in surprise.

"And here's a bonus, my heirloom necklace actually has some mermaid magic stored in it," Jackie exposed. "It may look like a regular necklace, but it actually has some amazing mermaid powers thanks to my great-great-great grandmother."

"So that's it," Daron yelled. "That's probably why Ludo might have seemed interested in your necklace Jackie! It has some strong mermaid magic that could aid him in his universal conquest!"

"That seems like the best theory Daron, and I do believe your right," Jackie nodded.

"Okay gurls, I should let you know that my medallion also has some unicorn magic stored into it as well," Pony Head confessed. "Hence why Ludo was interested in it and why he would want to be behind its theft."

"That does make sense," Daron nodded.

"Oh and if you two are wondering when I first got it, I had just turned 12. I was given it for my 12th birthday from my mom who had it passed down to her by my grandmother," Jackie informed. "Around that same time, I dyed a streak of my hair aqua on the left side and that's been my thing."

"Wow."

"And that's not all. Last year, I had gotten this cool mermaid tattoo on my right shoulder side," Jackie smirked. "I'll show it to you girls."

She took off her shirt, wearing an undershirt underneath, and revealed to them the tattoo of the mermaid which was the same aqua color as the streak in her hair. Daron and Pony Head gawked in admiration.

"Wow Jackie, that tattoo is beautiful," Daron gushed.

"Yeah gurl, that tattoo looks like the bomb," Pony Head agreed.

"I know," she put her shirt back on. "Marco had seen it too and you should have seen how he reacted to it."

"He _loved_ it didn't he?"

"Oh yes, he did. He gawked at the sight of it."

Daron was still in shock to learn that one of the coolest girls who went to her school was actually half mermaid this whole time, and didn't even know about it.

"I'm just feeling so psyched," Daron squealed. "I've been traveling through dimensions with a floating unicorn head and a cool skateboarding girl who happens to be one half of a mermaid! It's like a dream come true!"

"Yah, this is a terrific team after all," Pony Head smiled.

"Something else occurred to me," Daron realized. "Jackie, when you were 14, you already looked curvy in the hips and the bust. Does that have something to do with your mermaid heritage?"

"Now that you mention, yes it does," Jackie confirmed. "Mermaids are curvy in the waist and have a gorgeous bust to gawk at, so it's natural that I get this figure from my mermaid heritage."

"Wow," Daron shook her head. "No wonder why Marco had the hots for you for many years. You were just so beautiful at a young age that you won Marco's heart."

"I know that," Jackie blushed. "And I think he's won my heart too."

"Hey gurls, let's go find some more mermaids," Pony Head suggested. "Maybe if we're lucky, Jackie could ask them if they saw her necklace which my medallion would be with."

"That's a terrific idea Pony Head," Daron and Jackie chimed. "Let's go for it."

Jackie then said farewell to the mermaid in front. The mermaid ended up singing its enchanted song which caused it to start to rain.

"I told ya it would start raining when that song was sung," Jackie smirked.

"We never doubted you for a second," Daron smiled. "Let's go find some more mermaids."

"Right on sistah," Pony Head was all for it.

The two of them stormed through the jungle to find mermaids who could help Jackie find her heirloom necklace and Pony Head's medallion as Daron and Pony Head were impressed about learning about Jackie's heritage…

* * *

As Nebula had flown and carried Janna up several cliffs with Upsilon hovering above to keep up with them as they were making their way through the jungle dimension. Suddenly, it started to rain thanks to one of the mermaids singing their song. Janna knew this was the work of the mermaids as she told her teammates.

"Told you two that mermaids could make it rain," she was smirking.

"Hmph," Nebula wasn't in the mood for chatting.

"What about you Upsilon," Janna decided to check on the robot's functionality. "How are you able to handle this rain?"

"I am 100% waterproof on the surface," Upsilon informed her. "Though I still can't calculate how mermaids can make it accumulate like this."

"I understand," Janna said as they landed on higher ground and started walking again. She had noticed Nebula was still upset by what she saw since she was running ahead of them.

"You're still upset, aren't you Nebula?" The Filipino dared to ask.

"So," Nebula sighed. "I won't be able to get to the bottom of this just by mulling over it."

"What about mulling over it while on the go then," Janna huffed.

"At least you'd be moving forward," Nebula grunted.

The nightmare loving Filipino followed after her with Upsilon trailing behind her. It just didn't add up. The Nebula that was with them _looked_ like Nebula, who _talked_ like Nebula, _acts_ like Nebula…but does she really got nothing to remember? Was she just a _Nebula Android_ too?

"I suppose it's a possible theory," Janna shook her head.

Despite this, she refused to believe Nebula was an android. She believed Nebula was Nebula and she would continue to believe so until actual proof is surfaced right in front of her. Nebula was the same Nebula who was locked up for 40 years, made a promise to Victoria, and saved Janna's life on more than just one occasion.

Seeing that it was still raining, Janna made sure she kept up with her teammates as they went through the jungle dimension while it was raining…

* * *

The Demonstrix were sneaking through the jungle with Tom and Archibald sticking close behind Buff Frog. Because of his trained skills in the espionage, the frog monster was the best fit to lead them without being caught by mermaids. What they didn't count on was the fact that it was raining even though they never ran into a mermaid.

"Hey Buff Frog, it's raining," Archibald was confused.

"I know," the frog monster deadpanned.

"How could this have happened," the gargoyle asked. "We never ran into a mermaid and yet it's raining."

"Keep in mind Comrade Archibald that there is more than one mermaid in jungle dimension," Buff Frog issued. "Not only that, but there's more than one team in this jungle too since someone must have gotten one to sing..."

"Yeah, I guess your right," Archibald nodded. "What do you think Tom?"

When the gargoyle turned to face Tom, he noticed something off. Tom was actually smoking from pain as the rain was hitting him. Taking notice of this, he pointed out the obvious.

"Hey Tom, you're smoking from the rain hitting you!"

"Nice observation there, _Captain Obvious_," Tom hissed sarcastically. "In case you forgotten, I happen to be part demon!"

"Oh, and since your part demon, you control fire, and rain is made of water! And we know that water is strong against fire, in which the rain is causing you to smoke up and feel pain!" Archibald deduced.

"BINGO!" Tom yelped in pain. "Well don't just stand there, help me out!"

"Hold up Comrade Tom," Buff Frog learned of his predicament and offered to help. "Let me find you…alternative source for your predicament."

As Tom was begging him to hurry up, Buff Frog's sight was caught on a nearby mushroom big enough for Tom. Even though it was the most efficient, it seemed durable enough to keep Tom from being pelted from the rain. Plus it took the shape of an umbrella and it seemed to be waterproof. So Buff Frog grabbed the mushroom and gave it to Tom, who covered himself from the rain. This caused him to stop smoking.

"Well, this isn't the best way to keep dry, but at least I stopped smoking," Tom thanked the frog monster. "Thanks for that Buff Frog."

"Anytime, Comrade Tom," Buff Frog gave him the approval sign as they kept moving and tried to remain out of sight from any of the mermaids.

"I take it that you never had the chance to encounter rain before, huh?" Archibald dared to ask.

"Oh, you think Archibald," Tom huffed. "In the underworld, it doesn't rain water. Water would end up vaporizing _before_ it reaches the underworld. Where _I_ came from, it rains fire instead. We also prefer to swim in lava, because that's what demons are adapted to."

"Yeah I could never imagine swimming in lava," the gargoyle winced.

"Me too, I vould fry up," Buff Frog cringed before he caught sight of something in the distance and stopped his team. "Look, there's a mermaid over there. Stick with me and I'll get us by it safely."

"Whatever you say Buff Frog sir," the gargoyle saluted.

"Let's just hope that it'll stop raining soon," the demon sighed.

"Trust me, Comrade Tom, this von't be last time it'll rain around us," Buff Frog warned.

The frog monster then escorted the gargoyle and a mushroom wielding demon out of the mermaid's sight so they can get by without being spotted…

* * *

Team Star was swinging from vine to vine as it was raining.

"Hey guys, it's actually raining," Star chirped. "This must be the work of the mermaids!"

"Well this isn't fun," Marco complained. "Now it's raining and I'm going to get _wet socks_…"

"You think you have it bad Marco," Andrew had it even worse. "I'm stuck in one of the vines!"

Andrew just wasn't having it. Not only was it raining and his hat was getting soaked, but he was stuck in one of the vines by his wrist as Star and Marco got down from the vine safely.

"Wow Andrew, you decided to _hang _out in the vines for a bit," Star joked.

"Quit it with the jokes Star," Andrew yelled. "Just get me down from this vine!"

As her soaked hair covered parts of her face, Star got out her wand and was about to free him the extreme way.

"Not a problem Andrew, I'll cut you down with one of my spells!" Star aimed it for the vine.

"No Star, don't use magic, use-"

"Jungle Vine Wrist Removal," Star cast the spell and it fired at the vine, in which the vine snapped off and Andrew fell to the ground face first, with his hat floating down on his head a few seconds later.

"Of course, I expected this from the crazy Mewni Princess," Andrew muffled as he got up.

"Told ya that I'd get you down," Star beamed as Andrew wiped himself and adjusted his hat.

"Well thanks a lot, Star," Andrew huffed sarcastically.

"Anytime Andrew old buddy," Star winked at him before running off.

Marco had chased after her as Andrew pulled the vine that was stuck on him off and tossed it onto the ground before running after the others. Suddenly, it stopped raining.

"Oh goodness, it stopped raining thankfully," Andrew sighed as he chased after his partners.

But the clear sky wouldn't last for long…

* * *

Team Sparkle had navigated through most of the jungle from swinging on vines and other stuff. They had just passed by several mermaids who looked gorgeous. The mermaids were actually waving hello to Jackie, who decided to return the gesture.

"Hello mermaids," Jackie greeted back in stride.

"Wow Jackie, I'm impressed that you are able to talk to these mermaids as if they were your friends," Daron gushed. "Then again, considering what we learned about you, it might not be a surprise any longer."

"Yah gurl, pretty soon we should start referring to you as Mermaid Queen," Pony Head joked.

"Yeah dudettes," Jackie giggled in flatter. "I find that very suitable…"

The skateboarder girl then got serious.

"Anyway, I had spoken to all these mermaids we passed and none of them know where my seashell necklace is," Jackie admitted. "Considering that it has mermaid powers, they probably would have seen it."

"Yeah that's true," Pony Head went with that.

"There's something else that I feel like asking," Daron was serious. "Have you told Marco about your mermaid heritage?"

"Well…I've been wanting to for a while, especially since we started dating," Jackie admitted. "The problem is I haven't been able to. I was planning on doing it the night we had that party two years ago when we were alone. But then Star came and revealed her crush on Marco and how she had to leave for Mewni, and then Marco ran off after her and he had been distant with me. We started hanging out sometime later when he learned that her crush on him was a phase. But I _haven't_ told him."

"Oh gurl, you should tell that Earth Dude about it," Pony Head encouraged.

"I'm planning on telling him," Jackie seemed determined. "Because I trust him to keep it low and because we have known each other for years, and I know he wouldn't want _anything_ to happen to me."

"Good idea Jackie," Daron smiled. "The next time you run into Marco on this adventure, be sure to tell him."

"I will, and that's a promise too," Jackie nodded. "Now let's see if there are any other mermaids in this jungle who might know where my seashell necklace is which Pony Head's medallion might be with too."

"You said it, Jackie," both Daron and Pony Head chimed as they continued through the jungle. As Jackie waved farewell to the mermaids, one of them sang that song, which caused it to rain, and we know what that means…

* * *

"UNBELIEVABLE," Andrew yelled in exaggeration. "We didn't even RUN into a mermaid, and it's started to rain!"

"Well keep in mind Andrew that there is more than one mermaid in this jungle," Marco explained, putting his hood up. "And combining that with how large the jungle is and how there are 3 other teams exploring this dimension at the same time, its likely someone else got the mermaids to sing."

"That's true," Andrew groaned. "I don't like having my hat soaked in water due to the rain…"

"Well Andrew it could be worse," Marco tried to enlighten him. "You could be forced to wear wet socks that come from walking in the rain…"

"I get that," Andrew then noticed that Star wasn't with them at the moment. "Hey, where the heck is Star?"

His question was answered when Star came swinging towards them on a vine.

"Yayayayayayayaya," Star had let out the craziest yell as if she had lost her marbles. In a matter of seconds, she jumped down and landed into a puddle. As she turned around to look upward by sitting, she let out a hysterical laugh from the fun she was having. As Marco shook his head, Andrew was shocked.

_Okay, so Star definitely has gone cuckoo on us._

Shaking his head, Andrew then decided to ask. "Listen, Star, how the heck can you handle this kind of weather?"

"Believe me, Andrew, it rains on Mewni just as it does on Earth and on your island," Star got up. "In fact, Marco and I remember this time we snuck off to climb a large mountain and got through a rainy area just to get to the top to win at Game of Flags. It was awesome!"

"Game of Flags…?" Andrew was lost by what she said.

"It's essentially King of the Hill taken to the extremes and it's played by both sides of her family; her mother's side and her father's side," Marco revealed.

"Oh, I get it," Andrew seemed to wrap his head around it.

To his relief, it _stopped_ raining.

"Thank goodness," Andrew huffed. "Now I can wring my hat."

"And I have to wring my hair too," Star chimed.

Both Star and Andrew took the moment to wring out their hair and hat respectively. Seeing this as a chance, Andrew decided to mess with Star by taking his already soaked hat and then wrung it right over Star, causing more water to fall on top of her head.

"Whoa, what was _that_ for Andrew," Star yelled as she shook herself.

"Oh, I only did that because I felt like it," Andrew cackled.

"How about if I wring my hair over your head, Andrew…?"

"Wouldn't happen, because I would think first before you could..."

"The two of you are impossible," Marco chuckled before he started walking. Once he did, he felt his feet step into something wet and grimaced. "And so are _my_ socks. They're wet, this isn't good…"

Not liking this, Marco struggled to follow after Star and Andrew with wet socks on through the jungle…

* * *

"I don't get it. If Nebula can be so calm about this, why can't _I_," Janna was wringing out her beanie while she watched Nebula wring out her own hair. "Is it because I can remember and she _can't_…"

"I'd advise you to inform Nebula and tell her everything you know," Upsilon stated as his system was fully functional.

"I dunno…I really want to, but I don't want to set her over the edge. You should have seen how she reacted when she saw that discarded Nebula Android back in the canyon dimension."

"I have noticed it, but you either have to overcome it or if otherwise, trigger something that'll reveal who she really is."

Janna took a deep breath and slumped. "I just don't wanna risk it. Besides, I've got a plan."

"And how possible will this plan of yours be able to pull through, statistics-wise?"

Janna was struggling to find an answer but was saved when Nebula returned to them.

"Alright, I think I figured out a route for us while I was wringing out my hair," Nebula said. "We'll have to fly over a few gaps, and then we head down the path and then we'll see what we'll run into next."

"Alright we can move," Janna allowed Nebula to grab her hand. "It stopped raining anyway."

"I know," Nebula flew off with Upsilon hovering after them. "I still don't get how mermaids could make it rain here…"

"It's like I said, mermaids have many magical powers," Janna grinned.

"I think I've noticed that, from seeing several mermaids in this jungle."

Once Nebula said that; they ended up getting onto an upper path where they were walking and started picking up the pace. Janna took a look at her surroundings and felt they looked familiar.

"You know, this place reminds me of the jungles that existed back on Jail Island," she recalled.

"Jail Island," Nebula was perplexed as she looked at Janna. "Since when was an _island_ made to be a _jail_?"

Janna's attention to Nebula went down a few notches.

"Yes, there was a security base and a jail on that island," Janna explained. "It was on Earth and parts of it were surrounded by a thick forest. But then it was blown up, and…I was on the island when it happened."

"Wait, how did _you _escape," Upsilon was curious now. "This piques my interest."

"Well…" her gaze fell onto Nebula, but she looked away before she could catch her. "I guess I was saved in the nick of time."

Accepting _that_ as an answer, Upsilon continued with Nebula and Janna through the jungle dimension…

* * *

Once it had stopped raining, the girlish team had felt themselves soaking wet. Daron was shown wringing her hair and wiping the lens of her glasses, while Pony Head shook herself and her mane dry. Meanwhile, Jackie took her own hair and wrung it.

"Wow Jackie," Daron commented. "You look like you just had a wipeout while surfing on a big wave."

"That is the perfect way to put it," Jackie laughed as she dried her hair out. "In any case, I'm just surprised that the mermaids we ran into were friendly and happy to see me."

"Maybe they're glad to see their mermaid leader return to them," Pony Head joked once again.

"Yeah, that's a good one," the skateboarder girl remarked. "But it has more to do with my mermaid heritage and the mermaid blood that I have."

"Anyway, shall we get going girls," Daron instructed.

"Ready when you are Daron."

The three girls went down a path until they came to the edge. They jumped down and bounced off of a rather big mushroom that propelled them up to another path above them. They got a good look of their surroundings from a good view up, the blue sky hovering over their heads.

"Wow, this place is _beautiful_ girls," Daron smiled. "This place is more spaced out than the previous dimensions we've explored."

"Well go figure, this place is really pretty," Pony Head admitted. "I like what we've encountered so far."

"I think this place is totally radical," Jackie smirked. "And it's just the way I _like_ it."

Taking the upper path, the three girls continued through the jungle while seeing if the other mermaids in the jungle know where Jackie's heirloom necklace is with Pony Head's medallion…

* * *

Now that they had dried up, Marco still had wet socks as he took off his shoes to look at how wet they are.

"Well this sucks," he groaned. "My socks are still wet. Did I mention how much I hate wet socks?"

"Not to worry, Marco, I gotcha covered," Star prepped her wand. "I'll dry them off: Drying Moist Removal!"

She shot the spell on his socks. To his surprise, they dried right up as he put his shoes back on.

"Well thanks for that Star," Marco appreciated the offer, even though it came with a catch. "But there's still a possibility that it'll rain again, and then my socks will become wet again."

"Oh right," Star moaned. "I didn't think about _that_…"

"That's not a _surprise_. That's how Star is," Andrew muttered loudly. "She always does things before thinking and puts herself into situations without thinking of the consequences."

"Hey," Star protested as they jumped off of several mushrooms. "I don't always screw up and use spells without thinking of the effects first."

"Andrew's got a point you know," Marco agreed. "You have used magic in situations without thinking, even when it_ isn't_ necessary. Remember when you used magic to make me grow that enormous beard that I was _cocooned_ in?"

"Right," Star was still shaking about that memory when Marco wanted to grow a beard just to impress Jackie, but she grew it with magic. It took her almost 24 hours or longer to finally get Marco freed from the oversized beard that extended throughout the house with a simple razor. "I think you _both_ made your point."

Marco and Andrew nodded as they were on the move again.

"Anyway Marco, are we going the right way?"

"We have to be," the Latino confirmed. "With the wind direction, the way the leaves and clouds are swaying, combined with the moss that's growing on the trees…"

"To put it simply, Marco says we are going the right way," the treasure hunter huffed as he grabbed his partners and they went in the right direction. "And let's keep going this way until we see the air fleet depart for the next dimension."

And so they picked up the pace through the jungle dimension…

* * *

Team Dread came to a halt to take down some Craw monsters and some bat monsters, but that's not the only reason they came to stop.

Janna was wondering why they were even in this dimension. They didn't see Ludo head here because the hideout in the canyon dimension was destroyed, and the one they took out was a fake. So what was their reason for being here?

"I don't get it, why are we even in this dimension," Janna was unsure of this as she bashed a craw monster with her hairdryer. "I mean, we have no Ludo to follow since the one we followed previously was revealed to be a fake, and we don't know where he is currently…"

"Upsilon," Nebula paused to shot Dark Purple Lightning Spear at the bat monsters. "Had detected some of Ludo's monsters swarming this jungle dimension and he also sensed some Ludo activity being taken in this jungle. Even if the one we beat previously was fake, that doesn't change the fact that the real Ludo must be the ringleader in this and is planning it all in hiding."

"Affirmative, my calculations never lie." Upsilon proclaimed.

Nebula grabbed Janna with one hand and her wand in the other. With one swing, Janna hit one of the bat monsters with a kick while Nebula blasted the other one with a Dark Purple Fist Punch, knocking its lights out. Upsilon had fired away at the remaining craw monsters as they vanished with the bat monsters. After landing onto the ground, Janna smirked to herself.

"Well that was a resourceful team attack," Janna said coyly.

"Yeah, I just wish that I wasn't so lost right about now," the dark girl remarked.

"Still feeling bad about not having any memories?"

"Well, yes, but I was actually referring to how we're _lost_ in this jungle dimension."

Indeed, Team Dread was lost in the jungle dimension with no clue on how to get by it…

* * *

Buff Frog was shown jumping from one ledge to another while carrying both Tom and Archibald on his shoulders.

"Did you have to carry _us_ up those ledges Buff Frog," Tom queried.

"Yeah," Archibald agreed. "We could have flown up those ledges by ourselves."

"And risk you two getting spotted by mermaids," Buff Frog argued. "Sorry, too risky."

Seeing that there was no room to an argument, Tom and Archibald remained quite as Buff Frog got to the top. Once he did, the frog monster swung from one vine to another with his comrades holding on tight on his back, and bouncing on several bouncy mushrooms along the way. It was impressive how Buff Frog was managing himself through this jungle dimension while not getting spotted by a mermaid yet.

"You know Buff Frog, you really are taking _this _seriously," Tom commented. "You're not paranoid of being spotted by the mermaids, are you?"

"Of course not," Buff Frog argued. "Have you seen size of mermaids? They are like any other mermaids in other dimensions, and there's no vay vee could miss them."

"Regardless, it's awesome how you're getting us by here," Archibald praised. "I feel like you were meant to get by this kind of area."

Buff Frog was about to comment to that before he noticed something in the distance.

"Look," he pointed.

"Looks like a human lady with a fishtail," Archibald was wide-eyed.

"That's a _mermaid_ Archibald," Tom retorted.

"He's right," the frog monster huffed. "Vee better stay outta sight."

As they stayed up above from where the mermaid was, the mermaid had started singing its enchanted song, which caused it to start to rain again.

"Uh oh, it's raining again," Archibald felt a raindrop.

"You know what _that_ means," Tom moaned.

"Yup," Buff Frog gave the umbrella mushroom to Tom to keep him dry from the rain.

They then remained where they were until the rain clears up and the mermaid is gone…

* * *

Andrew was still dragging both of his teammates through the jungle dimension. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing depends on who you ask. They ran into some stray craw monsters and a turtle monster up ahead. This got Andrew to let go of Star and Marco as he got ready.

"Alright, now we're talking," Andrew decided to drill dig over to the stray monsters to attack them from underground.

"I gotcha covered Andrew," Star flew over and approached the stray craw monsters, charging up her wand. "Dagger Crystal Heart Attack; feel the love you monsters!"

This caused the craw monsters to be stunned as daggers were sticking out of their chests which left them motionless. Seconds later, Andrew emerged from underground and his fists collided with the craw monsters before slamming right into them and dishing out several punches on them. Meanwhile, Marco decided to jump for the turtle monster and jabbed it right in the face before kicking it onto its back. With one swing, Marco picked up the monster and hurled it on top of the craw monsters that Andrew just took out

"Now that's what I call teamwork," said Andrew.

"The power of teamwork never fails," Star boasted. "Anyway, are we going to get through here? I mean the air fleet that Ludo sent out is probably nearing the end of this dimension and heading to the next one."

"Relax Star," Marco was confident. "We'll catch Ludo, I promise."

"So no need to get your hair all ruffled up over that Star," Andrew joined.

"And what makes you say that?" Star quizzed.

Just as Andrew was about to answer, they heard thunder again and it started to rain, much to the dismay of Marco and Andrew.

_"Not again…"_ Both of them uttered simultaneously…

* * *

Team Sparkle had just used a yellow flower that they touched to fly through the air with ease. Needless to say, all three of them were enjoying the experience.

"Wow girls, I'm amazed at how this flower can actually fly through the air," Daron remarked in admiration.

"I'll say, even though I can fly over here, this flower gave us the perfect opportunity to see the fabulous view down below," Pony Head remarked.

"Yeah, I like how we are flying with a simple flower too," Jackie grinned.

"We've dealt with some crazy things in this dimension, girls, from all the plants that grow very large to mermaids that make it rain, and now there's a yellow flower that is flying us to the top of that hollow stump below us," Daron said.

"And to top it off, we learned our skateboarding partner is part mermaid," Pony Head added.

"It also has occurred to me that we'll have to land inside of that hollow stump that's below us too since this flower can't fly forever." Jackie pointed out.

Then right on cue, when they were right above the stump, the flower then vanished as they saw that they were in for a long drop.

"Let's brace ourselves, girls," Daron yelled.

Pony Head thankfully came through and got the both of them to descend down the stump slowly until they were back on the ground unscathed. They were at the bottom of the stump as they saw a small opening for them to walk out of.

"Hey girls, this small opening is our way out," the nerdy girl noticed it was raining. "But it's raining again."

"No sweat, we've dealt with it already, and we can handle it again," Jackie was confident.

"She's right, let's get by this area." Pony Head agreed.

"Very well then, let's roll."

The three of them ventured back outside in the rain as they kept traveling through the vast jungle to search for their belongings, hoping one of the mermaids know where they could be…

* * *

Team Dread was now in another part of the jungle dimension, as they were unable to move forward.

"Okay guys, how can we press on from here," Janna put her hands onto her hips.

"Detected a mermaid's presence in the vicinity," Upsilon pointed to the nearby mermaid up ahead. "Shall we use its ability to create accumulation to get the vegetation in front of us to grow?"

"Fine," Nebula growled. "Let's get this done and over with so we can move on."

Once Janna got the mermaid's attention, it started singing that enchanted song which got the rain to start falling and the plants to grow, allowing them to get by the area and continue. The rain stopped shortly after that, and it was clear again.

"Great, now we can _move_," Nebula wasted no time in getting by as she used the grown plants to her advantage. Janna and Upsilon followed right behind her as the latter was computing how such a feat was possible.

"It's amazing how the accumulation from something such as a mermaid is able to make vegetation grow the way it does," he confirmed.

"Yeah, that's how they work here," Janna felt like sharing with her robot companion. "Anyway, I have this friend named Jackie who is really interested in mermaids. If she were in this dimension and had run into them, she would have been overjoyed from seeing them."

"Who is this Jackie that you are referring to," Upsilon demanded an answer. "I require some background on this Jackie that you mentioned."

Janna was just about to answer Upsilon's question before Nebula told both of them to stop as they came to a halt right behind Nebula.

"Okay, I'm sorry to interrupt whatever it is you two are talking about, but we have a problem here," Nebula pointed. "It's a dead end. And that means we won't be able to go any farther at this rate."

"Oh come on, let me see," Janna got to the front and saw that it was a dead end. Janna then saw something in front of her that left her speechless along with her teammates.

It was a yellow flower that they have to use to fly over to the next area...

* * *

Buff Frog was still lurking in the trees above and in the shadows while continuing to carry Tom and Archibald on his shoulders.

"Okay, I know I might have asked this before, but why do we have to continue sitting on your shoulders Buff Frog?" The demon asked.

"To make things easier so the chances of being spotted by mermaids are lowered in numbers," Buff Frog answered. "That vay, vee don't get caught."

"I get that," Tom groaned as he was not meant to live in the jungle. "It's also worth mentioning that I was never meant to live in a jungle such as this one. Demons prefer living in warmer and dryer territory where there are fire and lava to thrive on. We don't like to live in jungles where mermaids make it rain."

"Yeah, mermaids shouldn't make it rain," Archibald agrees before thinking thoughtfully. "At least according to the tales I've read about mermaids…

"Huh, this is no problem for me," the frog monster wasn't complaining. "I feel very much adapted to this kind of environment."

"Well that's no surprise," Tom retorted. "Considering that you were born and raised in a jungle swamp-like area."

"Exactly," Buff Frog said flatly.

The frog monster then got out of the tree and proceeded to press by the jungle while making sure no mermaids were in sight…

* * *

Team Star was trekking through the moist grass as they scurried through the murky jungle, hoping that they don't get wet again. Surprisingly, Marco had used a leaf to cover him (despite having his hood up) and Andrew scooted underneath next to the Latino so he wouldn't get wet either.

"You know guys, I hardly remember it raining on the other adventures we've been on," Star pondered. "It's something that rarely happens to us."

"And it's a good thing it hardly rains like _this,_" Marco shivered. "I can't stand wet socks."

"And I can't stand my hat being wet."

"Chill you guys, this is only happening because the mermaids are singing that song to make it rain," Star assured. "Besides, I would rather do this than to cut off a mermaid's tail like I almost did with Tiffany."

"Don't remind me of that Star," Marco winced at the time Star was going to chop off a mermaid's tail with an ax so she would never have to become a queen. "That would have become graphic."

"Not to mention the rating of the show would have been bumped up to a T," Andrew grumbled.

"Hey, there's no need to lean on the fourth wall Andrew," Star scolded.

"Hold it guys, look at that," Marco pointed at something in front of them, something that was peculiar.

It was a yellow flower. And it looked like it could fly.

"Is that a flower," Andrew examined.

"It looks like it can fly," Marco gazed.

"In that case, let's try it out!" Star got out her wand. "Fly, you little flower with Hurricane Force Wind!"

"Star, that's not necessary," Andrew started as she used the spell on the flower.

Abruptly, Star grabbed both Marco and Andrew before grabbing the flower which lifted them into the air. The three of them were now soaring across the air while examining their surroundings below. Surprisingly, Star actually saw this as one of the craziest things she's had to use, and she admitted it to her teammates.

"Okay guys, I think I should point it out that this has to be one of the craziest stunts that I've had to go along with." Star cried out.

"Really, and what else is _there?_" Marco looked curious.

"Well, one of them that's at the top of the list was the time where Andrew piloted the shuttle we were using while heading to the Space Colony GOD, nearly creaming us while heading there," Star admitted.

"You're never going to let me live down _that moment,_ are you Star?" Andrew groaned.

"Well Andrew, that was one of the only times where my whole life flashed before my very eyes and we were steering close to death, so of course I'm not going to let you live it down." Star quipped as they used the flower to travel until they had to get down to the solid ground again…

* * *

"I'm bored," Archibald whined.

"And I'm smoking," Tom retorted. "But you don't see _me _complaining."

"Oh come off it Tom, there are plenty of things that you could be complaining about right now," the gargoyle retorted.

"Not while I'm meditating my thoughts and keeping myself at an easeful state." The demon countered.

"Okay comrades, I need to stop for just one second," Buff Frog came to a halt as there was a gargoyle statue in front of them. "Archibald, do us favor and activate gargoyle statue."

"Roger that Buff Frog sir," Archibald saluted before flying off of the frog monsters shoulder to touch the statue. This got it to light up and caused the three of them to be teleported to another part of the jungle.

As Archibald went back onto Buff Frog's shoulder, they saw no mermaids in sight, but there was a slight problem they had encountered.

The wind currents were picking up and it was hard for them to get by it.

"Brace yourselves comrades," Buff Frog warned. "This'll be rough."

The demon and the gargoyle hung on tight to the frog monster's shoulders as the frog monster slowly got through parts of the heavy wind. They then saw their ticket out of there; a yellow flower that they had to use to get by.

"Hey Buff Frog, check out that flower," the gargoyle cheered.

"I guess we have to use it to fly past this area," the demon suggestion.

"That vould be the only solution in this predicament," the frog monster grabbed a hold of the yellow flower as it then started flying past the windy and it headed through the air.

"And you know what's the best part; it's not raining," Archibald beamed. "So Tom doesn't have to worry about getting wet!"

"Thanks for bringing _that_ up." Tom deadpanned.

"Let's hope this flower doesn't splatter us onto the ground below." Buff Frog hoped.

They rode on the yellow flower while praying they don't splatter and hope that they don't run into any mermaids…

* * *

"Woohoo, this is a wicked cool flower, dudes," Janna was thrilled by this flying flower.

Of course, it was not an understatement. The flower was getting them to a higher part of the jungle, and it was effective in spite of Nebula seeing it as ridiculous since she was steering it.

"This flower was built to function just like a helicopter," the robot informed. "This technique should be efficient enough to get us where we need to head."

"I hope so, but where we're going to land…" Nebula directed their attention to where they need to land. "…is the more important question we should be concerned with."

When Nebula suddenly let go, Janna gulped and screamed while Upsilon let out some incoherent beeps that were loud enough to put a siren to shame.

"Come on you two," Nebula yawned at their outbursts. "We can get down safely. Upsilon, use your hover booster to descend down slowly."

"Affirmative," as soon as he activated them, Upsilon let go of Janna's foot and hovered down slowly.

"And Janna, I'll get us down slowly too," Nebula started to descend downward at a slow pace.

"I hope so," Janna gulped, not wanting to fall from such a massive height.

Fortunately for them, they managed to land safely onto a large leave below them as the fall proved to be effective and not so painful.

"There now was that so bad," Nebula crossed her arms.

"No I guess not," Janna huffed. "We did make it down safely."

"All operations are fully functional; proceed with progression post haste," Upsilon pointed.

It didn't take long for them to continue their venture through the jungle dimension as they moved out…

* * *

As soon as they got off of one flower, Team Star now had to use another one to get by.

Well, that's too bad for them.

"I have to say it, but I rather prefer taking the rain over this dumb flower," Star groaned.

"But you're the only one who can fly it Star," Marco insisted. "Andrew and I can't make it fly the way you can."

Star scratched her head and searched for another suggestion. "How about you get us by here Marco?"

"You're forgetting who you're talking to; an average human who _can't_ fly."

"Well, how about Andrew getting us by here?"

"I'd be picking daisies by the time I can carry both of you for that period of time."

"Perhaps we could make a round trip…?"

"Star, stop fooling around and use the flower," Andrew barked, getting tired of the princess fishing for excuses.

"Fine," Star moaned as she grabbed the flower and got it flying with Marco and Andrew hanging onto her as they soared through the air with it. While they were looking for a spot to land, they saw the most humongous mushroom that was right in front of them. Just the sight of it caused them to be mind-boggled.

"W-Wow," Marco was at a lost. "I've never seen a mushroom _that big_ before, and I've had 100 small mushrooms on Emilio's Pizzas."

"Well we have jungle mushrooms on my island too," Andrew brought up. "But none of them are as big as _that one!"_

"Well hold on you two, because this flower is going to head straight for that mushroom," Star warned them.

It might have been a crash landing, but the three of them were safe and sound down on the ground. The flower disappeared the moment Star had let go of it. The three of them trailed off down the path in front of them.

"Star, you're never using a flower to fly again," Andrew groaned after dusting himself off. For once during this adventure, Star actually agreed with Andrew.

"I hope your right too, Andrew, I really don't like using those flowers," Star muttered.

"Well let's keep going if we hope on catching Ludo's air fleet," Marco suggested.

The three of them picked up the pace as they got by more of the jungle area around them…

* * *

Upsilon was currently tuning up some minor dents from the recent occurrence involving that flying flower. Nebula was in front as she got her teammates by from one tree to another, bouncing off of several mini mushrooms and only came to a halt when they reached a dead end.

"Flying vegetation detected up ahead," the robot pointed out as Nebula and Janna saw it too.

"Should we make it fly again," Nebula rubbed her temple about whether or not this would be a good idea.

"Be my guest Nebula," Janna shrugged as Nebula grabbed it, with Janna and Upsilon joining her afterwards as they started to fly again.

As Team Dread used the flower to fly, they saw a huge mushroom that was the same one Team Star had seen. Janna was the one who noticed it.

"Whoa ho, that is one humongous mushroom," Janna gawked.

_And I thought the mushrooms that were located on Andrew's floating island were __**big**__…_

"Warning: the wind currents are taking us directly to that giant mushroom," Upsilon gave them a warning.

Despite having difficulty steering it, Nebula managed to find a good spot to land around the mushroom where the flower disappeared once she let go of it.

"Let's get going," Nebula told them as she ran off. Janna smirked and followed after her while Upsilon boosted right behind them. They were hoping on getting where they need to be shortly…

* * *

"Yahoo, this flower is actually flying," Archibald whooped as the flower was steering them in the right direction.

"Buff Frog sure got this one down," Tom complimented. "Thanks for this Buff Frog."

"Anytime comrades," the frog monster smiled before frowning. "But don't thank me yet, for vee might be in for rough landing…"

The flower descended as Buff Frog then let go of the flower. Naturally, Buff Frog managed to get onto the ground safely as if he was just gone up a ledge. Tom levitated down onto the ground while Archibald used his wings to descend down safely. They realized that they were at the bottom of a stump, and they still had some ground to cover before they make it to the rendezvous point.

"Well, we're now at the bottom of a stump," Tom examined.

"Yeah, and we see no mermaids, and we haven't been caught by one so far," Archibald cheered.

"And vee shall keep it that vay," Buff Frog got his companions back onto his shoulders before continuing onward through parts of the jungle dimension. "Don't let guard down yet comrades. Vee have come too far to turn back…"

* * *

Team Dread was now at the base of a tall tree as they circled around it a couple of times while smacking out any incoming monsters in their path.

"Now where do we go from here," Nebula wondered, picking up a knocked out craw monster and tossing it down the valley below the treetop.

"Well, there's no way we can fly up this tree," Janna quoted. "But I did find this spring like mushroom we can use."

She used the mushroom and felt herself being propelled up to the top of the tree. Once they were finished clearing out the monsters, Nebula and Upsilon joined her by using the mushroom to catch up with Janna. It wasn't long before they found themselves grinding on 'mysterious vegetation' as Upsilon puts it. It was easy to see that they were at the highest point of the jungle and they got a good view of the horizon beyond them.

"Wow, I guess I was wrong," Janna smirked. "This place is much better than the jungle on Jail Island."

Even when it started to rain again, Janna's grin didn't fade away.

"You know, this is really impressive from a nature perspective," Nebula agreed, admiring what was in front of her. "It's hard for me to judge though since I never been in many jungles in my lifetime."

Janna playfully punched her on the shoulder as a result. "Oh stop and enjoy the view. Remember what I said?"

"There's a first time for everything?" Nebula quoted.

"Exactly Nebula," Janna had a teasing tone to her voice. "Let's see what's in store for us next."

They then trotted to the next part of the jungle dimension…

* * *

The Demonstrix didn't have any problems after coming out of the stump. They got by with Buff Frog swinging on vines, jumping from tree to tree, and using any and all vegetation necessary to get by with his partners on his back. It was a shame that it came to a halt when Buff Frog stopped and saw something in the distance. There were several mermaids up ahead, which caused Archibald to wince.

"Oh great, there's more mermaids," Tom grunted. "How are we going to get past that?"

"Just let me handle this," Buff Frog then uses a special method to sneak past the mermaids and travel from the treetops so they would be undetected. They managed to get by the horde of mermaids as they landed in front of that same yellow flower.

"Hey, isn't that the same flower we used before," Tom scratched his head.

"Yes I do believe your right, Comrade Tom," Buff Frog seemed skeptical of running into another one.

"Well let's use it to make it fly," Archibald suggested.

"Looks like vee don't have a choice," Buff Frog sighed. "Oh, very vell then…"

Once Buff Frog grabbed the bottom of the flower, it started soaring through the air again. They felt the flower being carried by the gust behind them as they looked at their surroundings. However, their eyes were caught by something HUGE that was in front of them.

"Whoa, what's that suppose to be?" Tom was at a lost.

"It's a giant mushroom," Archibald cried.

"Vow, I've seen big mushrooms many times, but none were_ that_ big." Buff Frog was amazed.

It was the same mushroom that Team Star and Team Dread headed for. And just like before, the Demonstrix members were being drifted to the upper part of the mushroom…

* * *

As Team Sparkle ventured deep into the jungle, they were encountering less and fewer mermaids on the way by, and those that they did encounter didn't know where Jackie's seashell heirloom necklace was located. Not that Jackie was upset about it, because there was still the next part of the jungle that they could check out.

"Well, we've been through a good portion of the jungle, and we haven't found your belongings at all," Daron huffed. "And even though we've seen just about every mermaid in this part of the jungle dimension, none of them know where Jackie's heirloom necklace is located."

"Which means we don't know where my medallion is neither," Pony Head moaned.

"Relax dudettes, it's no pressure that we haven't found them yet," Jackie remained as cool as ever. "There's the next part of the jungle that we can investigate too, so there's nothing to get worried about."

"You have a point, Jackie," Daron smiled. "It was fun seeing all those mermaids say hello to you in their mermaid language."

"Yeah, I agree, Daron," Jackie giggled. "That was pretty fun."

"You know what else is going to be fun," Pony Head got their attention. "We got some monsters to take care of."

Indeed, there were a couple of craw monsters in their path waiting to be taken out.

"Not if we have anything to show to them," Daron got out her fake wand and charged for them. Pony Head and Jackie followed suit.

One of the craw monsters met its match when Daron smacked it across the head with her fake wand. It was so effective that it skid a couple of feet before being knocked out. Pony Head took care of another one by jabbing it with her horn, getting it to jump a bit. The floating unicorn head then zapped it with a laser beam that took care of that one too. And then the last one that Jackie took care of was met with a karate chop in the face, followed by a jab in the stomach and a kick in the side before being tossed on top of the other two knocked out craw monsters. Daron finished the job by using her fake wand as a golf club and smacked the three craw monsters out of there were they went plummet down the valley from the treetops.

"Woo, we really are impressive," Daron smirked.

"Indeed we are," Pony Head was ecstatic.

"You know, I'm getting used to fighting these monsters since we've faced them several times," Jackie had to admit.

"Yeah, and we are impressed that you put up a good fight even after knowing about your mermaid genes," Daron complimented.

This got Jackie to blush from the flatter.

Just then, it started to rain again and the girls felt it.

"Well, it's raining again," Pony Head pointed out.

"Never mind that dudettes, let's head to the next part of the jungle," Jackie motioned. "That place is bound to have what we're looking for and we might find something we like."

"You said it, Jackie," Daron pocketed her fake wand. "Let's get moving."

Without any protests, the girls shoved off to the next part of the jungle mission in hopes of finding what they are looking for…

* * *

The Demonstrix members were spiraling at the top of the mushroom where they landed. Buff Frog wasted no time with plowing through this part, swinging through vines, taking down monsters, and remaining out of sight of any peeping mermaids, with Tom and Archibald tight on his shoulders.

"We're just about close to the rendezvous point," Tom exclaimed. "Keep it up Buff Frog."

"Sure thing," the frog monster said as he kept out of the sight of any mermaids.

After a few minutes, the Demonstrix finally reached the rendezvous point where the client said they had to get to. Then the client called them as he suddenly knew that they had made it.

"Good job you boys," the client cheered. "You didn't even get detected by the mermaids once, very amazing!"

"Well, we couldn't have done it without Buff Frog," Tom admitted. "Looks like his training in the espionage finally paid off."

"Yeah Buff Frog, the way you used those stealth techniques was way past cool," Archibald chirped.

Buff Frog felt proud of his teammates congratulating him on getting them by as they got off their shoulders.

"I'm glad that I could be of assistance," the frog monster said.

"Good, now get to the deeper part of the jungle dimension and I'll give you your next assignment," the client demanded before hanging up.

"Vell, let's go to deeper part of jungle dimension," Buff Frog motioned.

"We're right behind you Buff Frog," Tom said.

"Yeah, let's roll," Archibald saluted.

The three of them then ventured to the deeper part of the jungle dimension for the client to give them their next assignment…

* * *

By this point, Team Star felt more content with traveling, as they had swung from vine to vine, and had to grind on strange ivy. Once they got to the end, they admired the view below them.

"Whew, look at the wonderful view below us guys," Star admired. "There are a lot of wonders in this jungle. There's even a river where the mermaids go to take a swim."

"Wow, I never thought that you would be amazed by such views of nature Star," Andrew was shocked. "Considering how I live in nature every day on my island."

"Well Andrew, unlike you I don't remain in one spot," Star said. "I tend to travel through several dimensions, and I get a good look at what's around me and feel that all this traveling is worth all the fun places we can discover."

"She's right Andrew," Marco agreed. "A lot of the places she's visited have always been a pleasure to visit and she gets to see the excitement of visiting every one of them."

"No doubt about that Marco," Star smiled.

They continued walking, but suddenly, a mermaid popped out from one of the ponds nearby and pounced right on top of Andrew, which got him a little irritated.

"Ugh, why did this mermaid pin me on the ground like this," Andrew proceeded to push the mermaid off.

"Well you know Andrew, you could be a mermaid magnet," Star joked.

"Oh haha, that's a _riot_ right there Star," Andrew laughed sarcastically as the mermaid felt hurt emotionally, but shook it off and went back into the water. "I mean no offense to the mermaid, but I really don't want to make it rain again."

"Come on Andrew," Star groaned. "Don't let the rain get onto your parade."

"I dunno Star," Marco said. "I actually agree with Andrew. Remember; no more wet socks."

"Alright you two," Star jumped off of a mushroom she bounced on. "But remember, if it doesn't rain on your parade then look up. Because without rain…"

She motioned them to the rainbow that had formed in the distance. This got Marco and Andrew to gaze in awe at it as it was a wonderful sight.

"…there will be _**no**_ rainbow."

Using the rainbow as a guide, Team Star decided to follow it, in which it would lead them to the deeper parts of the jungle dimension, where they have to head if they hoped on catching that air fleet…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 13!**

**YEAH, DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO FINISH THIS CHAPTER, I ACTUALLY ENJOYED WRITING THIS CHAPTER. IT WAS PRETTY FUN!**

**THAT'S RIGHT READERS, I DECIDED TO USE THE WHOLE 'JACKIE IS A MERMAID' THEORY AND INCORPORATE IT INTO THE STORY, BUT WITH SEVERAL MODIFICATIONS WHERE SHE HAS A OLD RELATIVE THAT WAS A MERMAID WHICH WOULD EXPLAIN SOME THINGS IN THE SHOW, AND ALSO, HER ORANGE SEASHELL NECKLACE IS ACTUALLY A HEIRLOOM THAT HAS MERMAID MAGIC INSIDE IT, THAT NO ONE ELSE CAUGHT ON! I FEEL THAT I DID A GOOD JOB WITH THIS SINCE THE SHOW ITSELF FAILED TO DO SOME BACKGROUND DEPTHS FOR JACKIE'S CHARACTERIZATION OUTSIDE OF BEING MARCO'S GIRLFRIEND! THIS WAS SOMETHING THE SHOW COULD HAVE DONE BUT FAILED TO DO SO, AND IT COULD HAVE MADE HER MORE RELEVANT TO THE SHOW AND SHE COULD HAVE MAINTAINED AN IMPORTANT ROLE! I MEAN AFTER SHE BROKE UP WITH MARCO, SHE WAS WRITTEN OFF FROM THE SHOW WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TWO SEASON FOUR EPISODES AND ONE CAMEO. THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO DO THIS!**

**I HAD EXPECTED DISNEY TO BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS, CONSIDERING THIS IS THE SAME COMPANY RESPONSIBLE FOR **_**THE LITTLE MERMAID**_**, AND THAT BAFFLES ME! STILL, I DO HOPE YOU LIKE JACKIE'S BACKSTORY!**

**ALSO, I FEEL HAVING TOM SMOKE UP IN THE RAIN WOULD MAKE SENSE, SEEING THAT HE'S A DEMON WHO CONTROLS FIRE, RAIN IS MADE FROM WATER, AND FIRE IS WEAK AGAINST WATER, SO THIS REACTION WOULD MAKE SENSE!**

**ASIDE FROM THAT AND THE MANY REFERENCES IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW FOR THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE, AND TUNE IN FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	15. Jungle Dimension II

**CHAPTER 14-JUNGLE DIMENSION II:**

* * *

Team Dread had entered the deeper portion of the jungle dimension. However, they noticed that the area around them also resembled that of a swamp, with all the swamp water and mud making up the area, in addition to more trees and vines.

"Okay guys, we've now entered the swampy part of the jungle dimension, so be careful," Janna warned them before a smirk plagued her face. "And because this is a swamp, there's a lot of swamp water and mud around us."

"What? Don't tell me you're actually _afraid_ of getting dirty by mud and swamp water," Nebula sounded annoyed when she asked that.

"No, I don't. I actually _love _mud and getting dirty," Janna smirked. "In fact, I'm in the mood for some mud wrestling right about now."

"Well you can forget about your mud wrestling because we have_ bigger_ things to worry about," Nebula dismissed her idea. "We need to get by this area and out of this swamp."

"Continue heading due north," Upsilon directed as he led the way with Nebula right behind him. Janna sighed as she followed after her teammates through the swampy jungle.

_It's a shame because I really wanted to mud wrestle…_

* * *

"Uh, you sure it's safe around here," Andrew asked his teammates as they entered the swampy part of the jungle.

"Nope, but this was the only way for us to get by." Star had already been fighting off evil in the form of a craw monster.

It wasn't long before she knocked its lights out with a simple rainbow fist punch before kicking it to the side so they wouldn't trip over it.

"Hey guys, because our surroundings resemble a swamp, there's the possibility that we could run into some new more dangerous monsters," Marco felt the need to warn his teammates. "So we better be on high alert for when we run into them."

"So we can handle them off," Star dusted her hands. "The danger that's in this area can't be anymore dangerous than that in the Forest of Certain Death."

"Sure they might," Andrew rolled his eyes. "But it wouldn't _hurt_ to be ready for anything."

"Not to worry, we'll be ready," Star led the way as her team followed her. "As long as we know what we're up against, everything will be a-okay."

* * *

Daron was trudging through the swampy part of the jungle dimension along with Pony Head and Jackie. They had noticed how deep they have gotten. The amount of mermaids present became scarce, and the abundance of trees gradually increased in addition to the swampy water that was surrounding them, as well as the increase in fungus and moss all around them. Daron had to swing several vines out of the way with her fake wand so they could get by.

"Well girls, it's clear that we're in a swampy part of the jungle now," she sighed. "And we still haven't found your belongings yet."

"Then that means Ludo did make off with mah medallion and Jackie's seashell heirloom necklace," Pony Head concluded. "I bet all of this was a trap set by Ludo for us to go on a goose chase."

"But that's impossible. The Ludo that we faced in the canyon dimension was a _fake_," Jackie brought up. "And we haven't found the real Ludo at all in this jungle."

"That's because Ludo is up to something big," Daron slammed her fist into her palm. "That fake was obviously a decoy so Ludo could get whatever the heck he's planning underway and it involves Pony Head's medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace. And combining that with how the medallion has some unicorn magic while the seashell necklace actually has mermaid magic as a result of learning about Jackie's mermaid heritage, that's probably the main motive for us to go after Ludo."

"That's the best way to put it gurl," Pony Head was willing to go with that. "And Ludo used a photo of Star to frame her into thinking that she did it when in reality he did it."

"That might be true, but Ludo had disappeared on us after learning about the fake one," Jackie rubbed her chin. "I do have to believe that the real Ludo has to be out there somewhere."

"And we're going to look for him until we find him and interrogate him about the medallion and the seashell heirloom necklace," Daron had a determined smirk. "Come on; let's get through this _swampy_ jungle."

And thus the three girls trekked through the jungle to see if they can find the real Ludo sometime soon…

* * *

"There are many pixies living in this swampy jungle," the client was giving the Demonstrix their next mission as they were also in the swampy part of the jungle dimension.

"Coulda fooled me," Buff Frog shrugged. "Vee saw nothing but mermaids previously."

"Yes I know, but these are pixies that you boys have to rescue." The client informed them.

"Oh man, I hope that none of happens to be an empress who'll force one of us to marry her, and then, in turn, digest us in her stomach," Archibald shivered.

"Relax Archibald," Tom assured him. "We are not in Pixtopia, so that isn't going to be possible."

"Tom is right Archibald," the client agreed. "The pixies in that swampy jungle part are not residents of Pixtopia. They are just _regular_ pixies lurking around. Your mission this time is to collect 10 pixies."

"I've gotta question," Buff Frog started. "Vhy are vee collecting pixies?"

He was expecting the client to be impatient, but to his surprise, he answered in a calm tone.

"Because those pixies have a strong magical power that Ludo could end up getting his hands on and will aid him in his plot," he exclaim. "If he gets those pixies, he could become invincible. So it's up to you boys to protect those pixies from Ludo and his monsters. So good luck and be on guard."

The call ended as Tom pocketed the talkie.

"So we are hunting for 10 pixies. Sounds a little like the first mission when we were hunting for oysters," Tom turned to eye Archibald. "Hopefully Archibald doesn't find any extras and feel the need to hurl them at us."

The gargoyle raised his hands up in defense. "Hey, you guys wouldn't listen to me! That's what they call karma Tom!"

"Whatever," Tom rolled his eye as he started walking alongside a clear path. "Let's get to work on finding those 10 pixies."

"I couldn't have agreed myself, Comrade Tom," Buff Frog laughed as he and Archibald followed their demon comrade. Buff Frog was amazed by the swampy area they were in as the Demonstrix got to work on finding 10 pixies…

* * *

Nebula had flown Janna up a treetop while Upsilon hovered right behind them. They were gazing upon the swampy marshland that was below them as well as seeing deadly plants that resemble Venus Fly Traps. They had to make sure to stay clear of them.

Without a warning, Nebula jumped down with Janna and Upsilon following her. Of course, this didn't come without a misfortunate since Janna landed in a mud pile, in which some of the mud splashed right onto Nebula. This got the nightmare loving girl to snicker.

"Well so much for not wanting to mud wrestle," she joked.

Instead of lashing out, Nebula remained stoic while a cold look was in her eyes, showing that she did not appreciate that. Nonetheless, she shook it off before turning around to face the path in front of them.

"Whatever," she grumbled. "Let's just keep moving."

Both of them obliged as they carried forward. Of course, they swerved off course when something landed in front of them with a heavy thud, getting them into an obstacle.

"Is that what I think it is," Janna gawked at the sight before her.

The obstacle in question was actually a new type of monster of Ludo's. This monster was shown to be a big looking troll monster that had on armor for protection. Instead of a battle ax, the troll monster had a large hammer, intended to crushing its prey and smacking anyone it sees as a threat. The troll monster glowered down at the dreadful team and emitted a low growl, preparing to take them out.

While Janna was still gawking and Upsilon was analyzing the new monster, Nebula just stared at the monster and smirked. She seemed excited about getting to fight a tougher monster.

"Well, what do you know," Nebula cracked her knuckles in pride. "Finally, we've run into a monster that could be worth a challenge…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Star had encountered their own troll monster that they had to fend off. Star got started be skidding on her knees on the marshy ground before sliding right underneath the troll monster. Had she not rolled out in time, the troll would have slammed its hammer right on the Mewni princess. Once the troll monster noticed that it missed its target, it growled before starting to fight against Star, Marco, and Andrew.

"See, we told ya," Andrew grunted towards Star as he delivered a swift punch to the troll monster's gut. This got the troll to skid back before roared and slamming its hammer towards the treasure hunter. Andrew dodged before he could be flattened. "We explored the swampy part of the jungle dimension, and we have just encountered our first challenging monster to date."

"So you guys were right about encountering a new monster, but what's the problem," Star shrugged it off as she fired a Narwhal Blast on the troll. "From what I've learned, trolls aren't that tough!"

"But Star, we never saw _or _faced a troll before," Marco yelped as he felt the force that the hammer slammed nearby him. He retaliated with a jump and a karate jab right across the face. The troll shook this off before continuing its hammering spree.

"Ms. Skullsnick is a troll," Star fired a Rainbow Fist Punch to the side of the troll monster.

"But Ms. Skullsnick was also our teacher, Star," Marco landed a kick to the back of the monster. "Plus she was a human before she became a troll!"

"Fair enough," Star dodge yet another hammer attack. "So let's take this fiend down and continue onward."

"That's the best idea you had all day," Andrew huffed before burrowing underground, narrowly avoiding a slam on the head by a hammer.

Meanwhile, Star took to the air to dish out an aerial attack on the troll while Marco remained on the ground as he unleashed his karate moves on it. Star spun around before getting her wand to charge up and fire.

"Have some of this troll: Rainbow Blast!" A Rainbow Blast was fired onto the troll, getting it into a daze. While it was caught off guard, Marco seized the moment just to flip over and kick the troll in the face with his shin, before landing his own punch on the chest.

By then, Andrew returned to the surface where he made contact with the troll monster from below. He then delivered an uppercut to the chin, causing some more damage to the troll.

The troll regained itself and roared before smacking the treasure hunter aside with its hammer, getting him to be sent back several feet in the air. Star had caught on and grabbed Andrew before he landed in the swamp water.

"Andrew, are you alright?" She looked worried.

"Yeah, that monster packs a punch with that hammer," Andrew wiped his mouth. "But otherwise, I'm still fit to fight."

Andrew then got into the air and drill down to the troll before landing several jabs to the head. He got out of the way in time for Star to fire another spell on the troll.

"Okay you troll, let's see what you think about this dessert: Cupcake Blast!" Star fired several cupcakes that were as hard as diamonds. They hit the troll in the mouth and they couldn't be chomp down with how hard they were.

It was then Marco then slide down underneath and did a swift chop under the trolls' feet. This got the monster to trip and fall onto its stomach. Star, Marco and Andrew regrouped as the troll slowly started to get back up.

"Okay guys, how about we try teamwork for an attack together where we attack the monster simultaneously," Star suggested.

"I don't see why not," Andrew did a motion with his hands. "Besides, this monster is definitely one tough challenge."

"Alright, I'll fire a spell and you two can handle it from below." Star went up and charged her wand, her hair waving from the breeze that was occurring.

"You ready to try out a combo attack then Marco," Andrew readied his fists.

"Ready when you are Andrew," Marco got into karate position.

"Alright, let's do it."

The two of them then went into action where they dished out their attacks on the troll, in the form of multiple jabs and multiple karate chops respectively, as Star smirked and readied her wand.

"That will show that monster, guys, and now I'll finish this: Mega Rainbow Blast!"

She fired a stronger variant of the Rainbow Blast on the troll, in which Andrew and Marco got out of the way in time before it hit the troll. Once it was done, the troll was on its back and was knocked out unconscious. It wasn't long before it disappeared, and Star got back onto the ground and blew onto her wand.

"Well, that takes care of that," Star smirked. "The power of teamwork strikes again."

"No kidding," Andrew shook himself. "I never thought that a troll would put up such a fight."

"Me neither," Marco panted. "Shall we continue onward guys?"

"We are more than willing to move on," Star and Andrew said in unison.

Team Star then trekked on after having dealt with a troll monster, wondering if there are any more dangerous creatures lurking in this swamp that they have to watch out for…

* * *

The Demonstrix members were still looking for one of the Pixies when Tom felt a disturbance nearby.

"Hey guys, I feel something nearby."

"Oh, you're just feeling things, Tom." Archibald rolled his eyes.

"No, I just heard something close by," the demon looked to see where the sound was coming from. They came to an abrupt stop so he could see where that sound was coming from.

"Okay, why did we stop?" The gargoyle tilted his head.

"Tom thinks he heard pixie nearby." Buff Frog answered.

"I know I have," the demon skimmed the area before his eyes were met onto a nearby bush. He decided to investigate it along with Buff Frog. Archibald wanted to find the pixie already so he flew on ahead and went right over the bush.

"Hey little pixie, where are you," the gargoyle called out before his eyes landed onto one of the pixies. The pixie was about to be squashed by the hammer of a troll monster.

Disregarding that, Archibald dove down and snatched the pixie before it was crushed. Unluckily, the troll's hammer made contact with the gargoyle and sent him flying a couple of feet before he collided with a tree. Archibald shook his head with the pixie in his hand as he saw the troll for himself. Once the troll saw Archibald, it started to growl and stomped right over for him.

"HEY TOM, BUFF FROG, WE GOT A _SITUATION_ HERE!"

This got Tom and Buff Frog to react quickly as they came to the scene with Archibald flinching from the troll gradually approaching him. The troll would have smashed Archibald, but it didn't count on Buff Frog leaping for the monster.

"Let's see how you like to have bonking, punk," Buff Frog tackled the troll before landing a punch in the trolls face. While the troll felt dazed from the impact, Tom scurried over to Archibald who was holding the first pixie in his hands.

"You alright there Archibald," he asked.

"Yes I am, but I was more concerned with the pixie," Archibald showed him the pixie for himself. "It seems you were right about there being a pixie nearby."

"Of course, did you ever doubt me?"

"Well, not really," once Archibald gave the first pixie to Tom, he flew into the fray against the troll monster, who had pushed Buff Frog off and stood back onto its feet. "So what's the plan now Buff Frog?"

"I know," Buff Frog snapped his webbed finger. "Spit some acid onto troll's face."

"I gotcha covered," with a confident smile, Archibald swooped over and got into the trolls' face before spitting one spit of acid into it. There was steam that came from the impact, as the troll made a loud screech.

With the first pixie pocketed safely, Tom entered by tossing two fireballs towards the trolls' back, which caused it to fall onto its stomach. Buff Frog delivered one last punch to the head before it was knocked out and disappeared afterwards.

"Vell that takes care of that," Buff Frog dusted his hands. "Now vee have one pixie down."

"And nine more to go," Tom nodded. "Let's find them."

"Got it," Archibald whooped, the three of them trekking through the jungle to find the nine remaining pixies that need rescuing and protecting…

* * *

The troll monster that Team Dread had to face made the first strike by slamming its hammer on them. Expecting this to happen, Nebula got out of the way along with Janna and Upsilon. Nebula jumped up and flew as she started to charge her wand. Once she was ready, she landed a Dark Purple Fist Punch to the back of the troll, before it shook it off. The troll started swinging its hammer in all directions as Janna had to do several backflips to get out of the way. She managed to land a sturdy kick to the face of the troll, which felt the impact and glowered down at the Filipino.

"Hey Nebula and Upsilon, this monster is _wicked_ tough," Janna warned before somersaulting out of the way from the trolls' grasp.

_And here I thought Ms. Skullsnick was mean and brutal…_

After the troll roared again, Janna turned to face her robot companion and getting him to attack. "Alright Upsilon, do your thing and attack this troll."

"Exterminate and destroy," Upsilon bellowed before opening fire on the troll. While it did leave some dents, the bullets were deflected from the armor it was wearing. Nebula dove down and then went and landed a Dark Purple Lightning Spear to the head, getting the monster to howl in pain.

"Alright Janna, use your hairdryer," Nebula ordered.

Janna caught onto this as she took out her trusty hairdryer and swung it to the trolls' feet and this tripped the monster. The troll then toppled over and fell onto its stomach, having a loose grip of its hammer.

"I do not need my arsenal weapons to dispose of this inferior monstrous pest," Upsilon then walked up and grabbed the hammer that the troll was holding previously. Keeping a grip on it with both robot hands, Upsilon then proceeded to slam the mallet right onto the monster's head, essentially giving it a taste of its own medicine. This got the troll to be knocked out cold before disappearing in front of them. Just the way it went down like that surprised Nebula, as she had not expected the battle to turn out the way it did.

"Huh, that was not at all what I was expecting from this type of fight," Nebula muttered.

"That doesn't matter now," Janna shook her head. "We should get a move on."

"Right," Nebula nodded.

"Affirmative," Upsilon had tossed the hammer into the swampy water before following his teammates through the swampy jungle…

* * *

As Team Sparkle trekked through the area, getting by vicious plants and vines that you could get tangled in, Daron couldn't help but feel a strange presence in the jungle. It didn't seem right to her, so she came to a halt and stopped her teammates from proceeding any further.

"Hey girls, call me crazy," she started. "But I am starting to get this strange presence nearby, something we haven't encountered yet…"

"But what haven't we encountered yet," Pony Head was confused. "I mean we already ran into mermaids that make it rain with an enchanted song."

"Well Daron, I think the presence your feeling is that of a Siren," Jackie answered.

"Sirens, there are Sirens here," the nerdy girl and the floating unicorn head asked.

"Yes, and from what I know, the sirens also make it rain just like the mermaids. However, they make it rain when they screech a loud ear-piercing shriek," the skateboarder girl revealed. "That's not the only difference, for you see when mermaids make it rain, they make the plants around us grow. Whereas with sirens, their rain does the opposite; they kill plants."

"Wait, how do you know about that Jackie," Daron rubbed her head.

"I happen to have discovered that in a history book," she continued. "I also know that the sirens were also an archenemy to the mermaids, and from my mermaid heritage, the mermaid part of my family; my great-great-great grandmother's side had engaged in a brutal war against the sirens. It was anything but pleasant, but my mermaid side of the family survived the war, but mermaids and sirens are anything but peaceful to each other even to this day."

"I see," Pony Head looked intrigued.

"Yeah, I had wanted to share my knowledge on the battle between Mermaids and Sirens history to Marco when I brought him to the school dance," Jackie smiled. "Too bad he also wanted to know my favorite music and favorite food from writing in blue pen on his hands."

"Whoa, Marco can be a bit of a _dork_ at times," Pony Head huffed.

"I know, but that's what makes him so _adorable_." Jackie sighed heavenly.

"That's a good point," the floating unicorn head couldn't argue with that.

"Regardless, we should be on the lookout for sirens and stay clear of them," Daron declared.

Pony Head nodded as she saw something in the distance. It looked like a strange creature that they never saw before, but it had its back turned on them while facing the water in front of it.

"Hey, what's that?" Pony Head wondered. "Maybe that's a different type of mermaid. I'm going to check this out."

Daron and Jackie saw Pony Head float over to the strange creature. While Jackie had a shocked expression, Daron had this bad feeling that something will happen.

"Uh, Pony Head, I don't think that's a good idea…" Daron tried to warn her, but Pony Head ignored her.

Once she was in front of the creature, the floating unicorn head got its' attention.

"Excuse me, are you a mermaid," Pony Head started. "Would it be alright if I ask you something?"

The creature started to turn around as Pony Head was expecting a mermaid.

But once it revealed itself, it wasn't even close to being a mermaid. No, this was actually a siren that was currently glowering at Pony Head. Apparently, the siren didn't appreciate being interrupted from staring into the water, as Pony Head thought this was a strange mermaid.

Meanwhile, Daron and Jackie got a good look at the siren and were horrified. Daron gained the most shocked look on her face while Jackie then felt panic overtake her.

"PONY HEAD, GET OUT OF THERE NOW BEFORE IT MAKES IT RAIN!" Jackie yelled with panic in her voice. "THAT'S NOT A MERMAID! THAT'S A-"

She didn't get to finish as the siren let out an ear piercing shriek…and then it started to rain.

"…a siren…" Jackie then gained an annoyed look on her face as the rain started to downpour, getting ready to kill off the plants around them…

* * *

"What's the matter Star," Andrew questioned as it started raining. "Do you have any wisecracks about this rain?"

"Shush Andrew, not now…there's something wrong here." Star felt something wrong with this rain.

"What's wrong, Star," Marco tilted his head as they saw the rain for themselves. Not only was this rain darker than that the mermaids summon, with the sky turning ominous gray, but the rain around them was doing something awful. Star motioned both of her pals to the withering plants that were dying out thanks to the rain that was falling. The mushrooms and flowers around them turned into brown mush and were wilted onto the ground.

"Uh huh, just as I thought," Star concluded. "There's something wrong with this rain after all!"

"But how can that be," Andrew was wicked puzzled. "We already established that the mermaids make rain that gets plants to grow."

"This rain was simply the work of the sirens!"

Star and Andrew turned to face Marco when he said that, glancing into his face as to how he knew that.

"How do you know this Marco?" Star was confused.

"It's simple if you know how the ecosystem works," the Latino explained. "In this dimension, the mermaids make rain that gets plants to thrive and grow in size so they can withstand the nature around them. But to balance this out, the sirens were made to make toxic rain that kills plants in retaliation, making it absolutely hazardous to plants. I think this rain also has some chemicals that can affect certain types of robots and machines too."

"But we haven't faced any robots on this journey," Andrew insisted. "All we've faced were monsters and more monsters."

"I think the better question is how you learned about how these sirens work," Star quizzed.

"Jackie showed me something about them once before," Marco stated. "It seems that sirens had this huge rivalry against mermaids, and thanks to her fascination with mermaids, Jackie showed me the history book."

"And that brings me to something else, how did the sirens make it rain," Andrew was still perplexed. "We haven't run into any sirens yet, and we don't even know what they look like?"

"It's just with the mermaids, there's more than one of them," Star said. "And we will know what they look like when we see one."

"So let's get moving now before we have no way to get around this area thanks to this rain."

Star and Andrew nodded as the three of them raced through the area quickly before the rain causes plants to fall and block the path ahead of them…

* * *

Team Dread had made some excellent progress after dealing with the troll that got in their way. But they didn't get far when it started to rain. They noticed that the rain was darker and the plants ahead of them shriveled up.

"Okay, this can't be the work of the mermaids, since they make plants grow," Nebula examined. "So what's going on here?"

Janna was curious about this type of rain as well and how it seemed rather lethal. The Filipino walked in front of a bush, only for a siren to jump out and tackle her onto the ground.

"AAHHH," Janna screamed, although it was out of surprise rather than horror. She pushed the siren off and winced. "So that's how it happened. One of the sirens made rain that kills plants."

"I get it, to balance out the ecosystem," Nebula started catching on. "But what the heck are sirens anyway?"

"A siren is a mythical being that is incredibly dangerous," Janna quoted. "According to folklore, sirens were able to lure in nearby sailors with enchanted singing, similar to how the mermaids did it. But in contrast, sirens did this to claim sailors as unexpected prey while seducing them into falling under their spell, so they could eat them. Sirens were also an archenemy of the Mermaids according to what my friend Jackie told me."

"Okay, I don't know who Jackie is, but that is utterly ridiculous. I mean the concept behind these sirens is just a bunch of malarkey." Nebula huffed.

Janna rolled her eyes at that. "What do you think about the sirens, Upsilon?"

Sadly, Upsilon was unable to do any speaking since this kind of rain was making him malfunction and he was losing control.

"Error, code alert; all systems malfunctioning," Upsilon beeped out of control. "Cannot process analysis and data, shutting down to defrag immediately…"

Their robot comrade turned off as the rain was doing something to him. This actually left Janna confused as did Nebula.

"Well it looks like this rain is harmful to Upsilon," Janna confirmed. "We better do something about him quick."

"Hold up, I think I have something," Nebula took out her wand and waved it around to make an umbrella hover over Upsilon.

"Okay, that'll keep him dry, but how will we activate him again?"

"Just leave that to me," Nebula approached Upsilon and started to do some work to the back side. "Besides, I feel like I was meant to do this and that I've done work with technology before, but I can't remember from where…"

"Alright," Janna sighed. "But remember, when it stops raining and when Upsilon is functioning again, we have to steer clear of these sirens."

"No kidding there," Nebula huffed. "Let's get this done."

And so Nebula started to work on Upsilon's system so he can function again once the rain stops as Janna examines all the plants that were dying because of this rain…

* * *

Buff Frog had to shield Tom from the rain since the mushroom umbrella shriveled up and died from the rain that hit it. They examined how this rain was killing off the plant life around them.

"Oh boy, look at the mess around us," Archibald motion to the dead plants around them. Tom ended up eyeing a siren from beyond the swampy water and grimaced.

"So I guess that this is what causes the rain," Tom groaned.

"But vee already know that," Buff Frog scoffed. "Vee learned previously that mermaids make it rain with enchanted song that helps plants to grow."

"Yes, but I bet you didn't know that the rain that the sirens summon can kill plants in an instant," Tom retorted.

"I knew that," Buff Frog spoke. "I mean vho doesn't know that already?"

"I just can't believe those mean sirens make the rain that kills plants," Archibald whined while gazing down on a wilting flower.

Disregarding that, the Demonstrix found their second pixie snoozing on a leaf that was disintegrating from the rain. They quickly claimed that one, and now had to find the remaining eight.

"I bet the third one is up above," Archibald looked confident as he looked at the top of the tree. "I'm going to check it out for myself!"

Archibald then flew up there while Buff Frog and Tom stayed at the bottom while it continued to rain. Once he flew up to the top of the tree, Archibald landed on a platform where sure enough, the third pixie was waiting for him. Archibald scooped it up and cradled it as if it were a baby. Surprisingly, the pixie gripped onto the gargoyle's hand, which made him smile cheerfully.

"Hey guys, I found the third pixie," Archibald descended back down to his teammates.

"Alright comrade Archibald," Buff Frog smiled. "Now we have 7 more to go."

"Yeah, it looks like you had a plausible hunch after all," Tom smirked.

Suddenly, the rain stopped and the skies were cleared.

"Looks like it stopped raining," Buff Frog no longer had to cover Tom.

"But it's not going to be the last time," Tom huffed. "There are more sirens out there and we have to watch out for them."

"And stay clear of them too." Archibald stretched.

"I know, now if you'll excuse me, I think I should take a bit of a swim," Buff Frog jumped into the swampy water and decided to swim around the water.

"Buff Frog, what are you doing," Tom raised his eyebrow.

"What does it look like? I'm swimming in swampy water to search for pixies in alternative way," Buff Frog answered. "Besides, this place feels like I'm back at home and it vouldn't hurt to check it out."

"Oh, okay," Tom sighed. "But remember; don't let the sirens spot you!"

"I von't," with that, Buff Frog swam off to see if he can find any pixies lurking around, while Tom strolled through the area with Archibald sticking behind him so he wouldn't foul up anything else. They had found 3 pixies so far, and they only had 7 more to go, as they passed by several of the dead plants around them…

* * *

"Well Pony Head, what have _we _learned today?" Jackie had just gotten done with having a rather _harsh_ talk with Pony Head about how Sirens are not Mermaids; something that wasn't normal for the normally cool, laid back and chill kind of girl who was overall friendly. As she asked the aforementioned question, Jackie had her hands on her hips, tapping her right foot and scowling at Pony Head with narrowed eyebrows, showing that she meant business.

Pony Head was nervous since she knew she messed up and deserved the harsh talk Jackie gave to her.

"Uh…sirens are _not_ mermaids…?" Pony Head took a guess while smiling nervously.

"Very good," Jackie took that as an answer as she settled down. "Just don't let it happen again."

"Alright, I won't do that again," Pony Head promised. "I promise I won't do that to a siren."

"That's what I like to hear," Jackie sighed as Daron approached them.

"It's fine, it's all behind us now," Daron assured. "We just have to stay clear of those sirens and keep them from making that horrible rain from falling."

"Let's go dudettes," the skateboarder girl motioned them to follow her as they did.

They walked on some of the vegetation platforms that were still standing after that rainstorm occurred. Once they made it to the higher elevation, they continued onward.

"You know, I have to wonder why the sirens make the rain that kills plants," Pony Head felt like speaking.

"To balance out the ecosystem I guess," Jackie shrugged casually. "The mermaid's rain makes plants grow, so the siren's rain makes plants wither and die."

"No doubt about that," Daron nodded. "We've encountered several strange obstacles on this adventure so far, aside from all the monsters of course."

"Uh huh," Pony Head groaned as they swung on a couple of vines. "It's a shame that our belongings aren't in this jungle."

"But why are we even in this dimension to begin with," Daron rubbed her chin.

"Because it's clear that Ludo was here if his monsters are anything to go by," Jackie concurred. "Anyway, I'm left to believe that Ludo truly was the one who set up Star and framed her, if my talk with Marco is anything to go by."

"Huh, mind if I see that paper again," Pony Head requested as Jackie got out the newspaper and looked at it for herself. After gazing at the photo several times, it started to seem more suspicious.

"Now that I am looking at this again gurls, there definitely something suspicious with this photo," Pony Head remarked. "The photo of Star looks too blurry as a possible method of setting up B-Fly. Besides, the only one who would do such a dirty trick to B-Fly is…well, Ludo. At least that's according to what I know."

"Then there's only one thing to do," Daron took the paper and pocketed it. "We got to find Ludo and make sure he confirms that he has your stuff."

"Yeah, like an interrogation," Jackie smirked. "I'll game for that, let's roll."

Pony Head nodded as did Daron as the three of them continued through the swampy jungle while avoiding any incoming sirens…

* * *

"Okay, now we know that the sirens are incredibly dangerous," Nebula was on the move again with her teammates. "So we better not run into them."

"No need to tell me twice," Janna huffed as Upsilon was fully operating again.

"That notification has been registered in my memory bank," the robot blared, feeling as good as ever.

Now the dreadful team had to make sure not to encounter sirens that can make deadly rain which can harm one of their members. They encountered a mermaid, but that rain wasn't a problem since it made the plants grow. It didn't last long though since it stopped shortly afterwards. They got across some vines, mushrooms, and round fruit that they bounced off of, only coming to a halt when they encountered a herd of octopus monsters. However, by this point, they weren't even close to being intimidated by them.

"These creeps outta be a piece of cake as of now," Nebula got out her green Miracle Gemstone and inserted it into her wand. "You two ready to make quick work out of these monsters?"

"Ready when you are," Janna had her dark spell book out all ready and raring to go.

"Activation of the Inferno Cannon is ready," Upsilon announced.

As the octopus monsters ganged up on them, Nebula smirked at their pathetic attempts to stop them.

"Ah, ah, ah, not so fast you octopus monsters," Nebula shook her head. "You shouldn't oppose us, because you might find yourself under _Miracle Levitato_!"

The moment she shouted that did Janna utter that spell and the octopus monsters froze and got spooky by ghostly images; then Upsilon stepped in and fired away his inferno blaster to fry the octopus monsters. Once the effects of the moves were lifted, the octopus monsters were knocked out cold and disappeared out of sight.

Once they were done with that, Janna put away her book while Nebula put away her wand and gemstone as they continued on through the swampy jungle…

* * *

"…and then Star says 'Oh, I have no idea if this is dangerous or not! Let's just have fun, who cares if we die!?'"

Marco had to hide a snicker while Star went and glowered at Andrew when he said that. All the traveling that they've been doing so far was starting to get to them. It had only been a matter of minutes, and it was clear that certain members of the team were becoming restless.

"Oh it doesn't matter if it's dangerous or not," Star groaned as she jumped to a tree branch and swung on it. "We have to get through this jungle dimension, and this was the only way by…unless of course, you can come up with something better Andrew."

"No, I just meant-"

Star then plopped right on top of the branch she was swinging on and looked up at the sky.

"We're supposed to be chasing after Ludo's air fleet that is aimed at universal conquest. But now I'm beginning to think that we'll never be able to catch up with it at this rate."

"What are you saying Star," Marco asked as he and Andrew got onto the branch too and sat on both sides of her. "The air fleet wasn't moving that fast. It has to be at least one or two dimensions away from us."

"I suppose your right," Star started to swing her feet. "We just gotta keep plowing through whatever is coming in our path and gets thrown at us."

"Well then what are we sitting around here for," Andrew huffed. "Let's get a move on so we don't lose sight of that air fleet."

"But it'll be _dangerous _for crying out loud," Star was sounding like a drama queen as she said that. Andrew just shrugged in response.

"We've been through worse before Star, but if something does attempt to eat me alive…"

"Not a problem," Star jumped down with Andrew and Marco followed after. "None of us are going to get eaten, not if I can help it."

"Star," Marco had a question of his own. "Do you wonder why Ludo summoned an air fleet on the universe, as well as wonder where did he get those battleships?"

"Probably the same way he found that missile that he was planning to use to blow up Echo Creek," Star guessed.

"Yes, but then there's the reason as to why Ludo is aiming for universal conquest tomorrow night."

Star was silent for a brief moment before smiling.

"Yeah, I have wondered about that, but the reason isn't that important, as long as we keep it from happening."

With that said, Star trekked through the swampy jungle with Marco and Andrew accompanying her…

* * *

After swimming through the swamp water for a bit, Buff Frog saw a vine hanging over him. Getting out of the water, he grabbed the vine and swung it upward until he grabbed another vine. He went through 4 vines before he came across the fourth pixie on the branch on the other side. He released himself from the highest point, landed on the branch and grabbed the fourth pixie.

"Alright, I've got number four," Buff Frog hollered as Tom and Archibald were below the tree. He jumped down next to his comrades and showed it to them. "How's that for pixie hunting?"

"Very good," Tom acclaimed before questioning. "Now where are the other 6?"

"I dunno, I couldn't find any pixies vhile lurking in swampy water," Buff Frog shrugged. "So I guess ve'll find them vhen vee find them."

They didn't walk any further when they came across another troll monster ready to smash them. The monster caused a small quake just from landing in front of them. Buff Frog was only two steps away from being smashed. Tom had lean to the right and glanced around an armored craw monster. A pixie was floating behind it, frightened by this attacker.

"Guess vee gotta take care of this again," Buff Frog popped in some chewing prum and chewed it up. "Stand back comrades, this is gonna get _sticky_."

Tom moaned as Buff Frog blew several bubbles in the troll's direction. Once they popped, the troll was stuck and unable to move. Tom took the opportunity to land a blow when he tossed a couple of fireballs at it. The troll turned its attention towards Tom as Buff Frog felt like now was the chance.

"Keep it distracted Tom," Buff Frog hollered. "Archibald, you help Tom keep troll busy."

"With pleasure," Archibald then took a deep breath and jeered in the troll's direction. "Hey, you fat chump, over here!"

"Not vat I had in mind," Buff Frog facepalmed before running to the back of the troll. He jumped up and dealt a powerful punch on the back, which Tom got out of the way pretty quickly. Once the troll monster fell, Buff Frog slammed his fists onto its head, knocking it out cold. In a swift movement, Archibald swooped down and grabbed the pixie nearby, cradling it to ensure its safety. Now they had five pixies.

"What's the matter," the client started up again. "You're only halfway there!"

"Hey, ve're doing better than before, so don't chastise us about it," Buff Frog argued. The client took a minute to think this over.

"Well…fine then. Good job, and keep it up."

Once the client ended the call, Tom, Archibald and Buff Frog continued through the area with hope on finding the last 5 pixies…

* * *

Team Star had been getting by the area from swinging on several tree branches, jumping from tree to tree, and speeding up the process. Andrew's complaints about the danger ahead of them ceased entirely, as Marco was making sure they were going on the right path, and Star was purely focused on getting out of the swampy part of the jungle.

"Okay guys, I love trees as much as everyone else," Star started. "But I could use a whole new change of scenery."

"What other dimensions do you want to visit," Andrew inquired. "So far, we've been to the Coastal Ruins Dimension, Big City Plant Dimension, Casino Dimension, Canyon Dimension, and now the Jungle Dimension."

"Maybe we can go to an icy dimension, where we could end up skiing down an icy mountain." The Latino mused, thinking about skiing while Jackie is snowboarding.

"That sounds like fun," Star gleamed. "A snowy dimension would contain _hard times_, but they would be the _happiest days of our life_."

"Okay, the stuff you just mentioned is something I've heard about before," Andrew noticed. "But where did it come from exact-"

Andrew didn't get to finish as a heavy thud occurred. In their path stood another troll monster with a hammer that it's just begging to squash them with; leaving them surprised to no end. Star glowered with her wand out to use, Marco stood firm and got into his karate fighting pose, and Andrew just growled as not only did it cut off his sentence, but it was another troll monster coming back for seconds.

"So, ready for round 2, aren't you?"

Andrew made the first strike by aiming for its torso and jabbed a big punch onto it. Star was about to start up another Rainbow Fist Punch, but the troll caught onto this, as it then swung its hammer into Star, sending her careening into a nearby tree where she slid down.

"STAR," Marco called out as Andrew was now sneering at this troll.

"Okay, so you want to play _dirty_ huh," Andrew cocked his fists. "Well buddy, you just made this personal…"

Andrew then slammed his fist into the hammer to keep the monster from smacking anyone else around like a volleyball. He then delivered an uppercut to the chest, which got the troll to howl. Before the troll could snap to, Marco jumped behind it and delivered a strong kick with his foot, getting the troll to jerk upward.

"That was for treating Star like some volleyball, brute!"

The troll snarled as it then pushed Andrew to the ground and swung around to decide to use its hammer on Marco. Andrew could only brace the impact, just in time for Star to show back up with her wand all charged up and ready for use.

"That was a great hit you made of me," Star huffed. "Now allow me to return the favor: Rainbow Blast!"

She fired a rainbow blast onto the troll monster, doing some significant damage. The troll fell down with a thud and was knocked out into unconsciousness before fading. Star went and scooped up both Marco and Andrew after that brutal fight they were just in.

"You two alright," she asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," the Latino responded first.

"Sure, I'm good," the treasure hunter followed suit.

"Well good," Star got them both onto their feet and they were walking again. "Because these trolls are starting to get on my nerves..."

"No kidding there," Andrew grimaced. "Let's go before we run into more trolls."

"Amen to that," Marco remarked.

The three of them continued forward as they hoped they wouldn't run into another troll monster in the jungle…

* * *

Team Sparkle was on the move again through the swampy jungle area, with everything that they discussed being maintained amongst the group. As they continued, they saw just how murky the water has gotten in no part thanks to the sirens.

"Jeez gurls, look how murky and messy the water is," Pony Head winced at the sight before her.

"Yeah, this was definitely thanks to the sirens that made it rain," Daron said.

"Tell me about it, I'm just wondering what water life resides in there," Jackie wondered. "And if this could have happened to the ocean instead."

"That would be your mermaid instincts kicking in, right?" Daron dared to ask.

"You know it," Jackie nodded before a slight memory came back to her mind. "You think that's cool, there was this one time where Star went missing for five months when Marco and I went to a restaurant, saw a bunch of tanked lobsters being held, decided to make off with them, and sent them back in the ocean where they could be liberated and back into their natural environment."

"Yeah, that's something that I'd expect from a mermaid, to protect sea life," Daron smirked.

"You got it."

"Hey gurls, we got some monsters to deal with," Pony Head directed them to the three craw monsters ahead.

"We're ready for action," Daron charged with her fake wand out and ready to use.

Daron made the first strike by smacking the first Craw monster with her fake wand, which ended up knocking it out into unconsciousness. This resulted in the other two craw monsters to growl and approaches her. They didn't anticipate Pony Head to hover from behind and knock them both out with her magical horn. A fourth craw monster came to the scene prepared to fight. It was Jackie's turn to fight.

With one swift move of the feet, she swung them into the monster a couple of times before karate chopping it in the face.

"Woohoo, that's how we do it, Jackie! Huh," Pony Head was cheering when she saw something nearby. It was another siren. "GURLS LOOK OUT; WE HAVE _ANOTHER _SIREN IN FRONT OF US!"

"What," they both saw it for themselves, but before they could move, it shrieked loudly and caused it to rain again. The fourth craw monster was wondering what was going on when Jackie decided to knock out the fourth craw monster for sure. As more plants withered and died, the four craw monsters vanished into thin air as the three girls were proud of their accomplishment.

"Yeah, we sure showed them," Daron gleamed.

"That will tell them to mess with us," Pony Head whinnied.

"True that dudettes," Jackie remarked.

The three of them continued the trek through the swampy jungle as the murky rain started to come to a stop…

* * *

"There's another siren, right ahead of us," Nebula warned her teammates as a siren was just up ahead.

"Okay, so as long as it doesn't spot us, it wouldn't screech and make it rain," Janna pointed out.

"Looks like it doesn't matter," Nebula muttered as siren already screeched and made it rain after thunder was heard of course. Luckily, Upsilon thought ahead and went under a tree near some leaves to keep dry, even though said leaves will end up shriveled up eventually. "For goodness sake, this is only going to hinder our progress."

"Go on without me, I can wait out the rain," Upsilon was willing to sacrifice. "You two should keep hunting for Ludo. I'm going to as the humans call it; take one for the team."

"No, we're not going without you Upsilon," Janna refused to leave Upsilon behind.

"We're…not?" Nebula was already walking away before glancing at Janna, who had a serious look in her eyes.

"No, Nebula," Janna groaned. "Do you really want our partner Upsilon to rust up and explode?"

Nebula knew that she didn't and sighed while shaking her head. The dark girl then leaned on a tree where she then waited for the rain to stop.

After Janna grunted at Nebula imperviously, she patted Upsilon on the side.

"You're too valuable to us to leave rusting out in this rain," she assured him.

"That would be a disappointing way to be dissembled," Upsilon admitted as they waited for the rain to stop…

* * *

The Demonstrix members were on a strict lookout for the last five pixies that are lurking around this jungle swamp. They did everything from swinging on a vine, passing by swampy water, getting over mud piles, and even took down some of Ludo's monsters for a bonus.

Still, Buff Frog couldn't help but admire the swamp that they were in, as it felt a lot like home to him. This was especially obvious since he has lived in a swamp since he was a tadpole. Needless to say, he would fit in here.

"You know comrades," Buff Frog said. "I definitely feel like I'm at home here."

"Because it's a swamp right," Archibald asked as the frog monster nodded.

"And it's because you've grown up in a swamp ever since he was a tadpole," Tom recited. "Something that I'll never be able to get used to, unfortunately…"

"I hear vat your saying Tom," Buff Frog sighed. "Demons and Frog Monsters come from two separate vorlds, and require different natural environments in order to thrive and prosper."

"Yeah, that's exactly it," Tom felt that Buff Frog just nailed it.

"Hey guys, I just found another pixie on the mushroom nearby," Archibald grabbed the pixie from the mushroom and brought it to them. "This counts as protection, doesn't it?"

"Of course," the demon nodded. "After all, we did beat Ludo to it."

"Good point you've made there Tom," Buff Frog chuckled.

Soon enough, they ran down the path and rammed over a couple of craw monsters in their path with no issue. They ended up saving the 7th pixie as a result.

"Vow, that's vasn't challenging," Buff Frog shook his head. "That vas ridiculous…"

"What are you saying Buff Frog? We already took down _two _troll monsters since we started this mission," Tom pointed out. "What more do you want? We should be lucky that the pixie wasn't in peril."

"That's true, but I vant people to recognize us monsters for good things we've been doing, such as protecting little pixies and taking orders from client." Buff Frog stated.

"Well…if you say so," Tom shrugged. "Come on; let's find the last three pixies."

"Yeah, we can find them no problem," Archibald whooped.

"Alright," with that said, Buff Frog, Tom, and Archibald continued through the swamp to find the last three pixies that need to be rescued…

* * *

Of course, even after the rain stopped, Team Star was still less than impressed with running into some more craw monsters up ahead.

"Oh for goodness sake, it just got done raining and now we have to deal with more monsters," Andrew complained.

"Not a problem for us Andrew," Star got her wand ready. "Because what these monsters are in need of is a little _washout_."

"What," Andrew was lost by what Star said.

"Allow me to show you: Mega Starfish Tsunami!"

From her wand came a blast of rushing water with starfishes in it, looking like a killer wave that a surfer would get a kick out of surfing. Once the water approached the monster, they got sucked into the current and were swept away into the swampy water, where they eventually drowned and disappeared. There were some starfishes lurking around from the blast, but those weren't important.

"Ha, I knew that the monsters would get _wiped out_," Star joked.

"Hey Star, did all these starfishes come from the spell," Marco picked one up.

"Yes, but they disappear after a few seconds," the one Marco was holding vanished to prove her point. "You see what I mean?"

"I don't get it, how did you learn to use a spell like this?"

"Andrew, I should let you know that I used this spell one time when Ludo had stolen my spell book," Star shivered from the memories of Ludo stealing her spell book and Glossaryk.

"I see," Andrew then moved on. "Well, in that case, we've handled them so we can keep moving."

"Right on Andrew," Star smiled. "Come on Marco."

"Okay Star…" Marco followed as he saw the starfishes disappear from sight.

It didn't take them long to encounter another yellow flower that they had to use to fly.

"Alright, now let's use this thing to fly us by this area," Star chirped as she grabbed it with Marco grabbing on too.

"Hmph, well so much for never again…" Andrew grumbled as Marco grabbed a hold of Andrew and the three of them were flying by using the yellow flower…

* * *

"Hey gurls, there's another yellow flower we have to use to get across," Pony Head cheered.

"Huh, well I guess since it's the only way to travel, we might as well make it fly," Daron concluded.

"You know it, Daron," Jackie was smiling.

Daron grabbed it as she and Jackie rode on the yellow flower while Pony Head stuck close to them to cover them in case something happens, something that neither Daron nor Jackie detested.

"Hey girls, where is this thing going to take us?" Daron questioned.

"Probably to another mermaid," Jackie guessed. "Hopefully it's doesn't take us to another siren."

"Yeah, because sirens are dangerous creatures," Pony Head huffed.

"You know it Pony Head," Jackie was proud that Pony Head was getting the hang of the bitter rivalry between mermaid and siren. And since Jackie happens to have some mermaid heritage in her blood, she would hope that Pony Head would stick to the mermaid's side.

"You girls want to know what else is dangerous," Daron looked panicked about something. "We're being attacked while we're riding on this flower."

"Say what," Pony Head and Jackie looked at her with big eyes.

Surely enough, in front of them were five craw monsters riding on five bat monsters in the air. What was more surprising was that the bat monsters were shooting green lasers from their mouths as Daron had to steer the yellow flower out of there so it wouldn't get caught in the crosshair…

* * *

After the rain finally subsided, Team Dread continued on as they have gotten by a good part of the swampy jungle.

They had passed by several mermaids, swung on some vines, jumped on vegetation platforms, and jump from several trees to get by. Suddenly, they came to a clearing towards the end of the swampy jungle as Janna stopped.

"Hey guys, there's a way out over there," Janna pointed before seeing the swamp and smirking. "But to get by, we have to get by the swamp. Guess we can swamp wrestle after all."

"No way," Nebula shook her head. "We are just getting by here and that's that. Besides, who knows what could be lurking in the swampy water."

"Ah come on Nebula, don't be such a chicken butt for thinking there could be an alligator in there," Janna was smirking devilishly. "There's a rumor that anyone who gets dragged down the swamp by an alligator never comes back. I've seen horror movies with people being dragged down by gator monsters."

"Let's just go," Nebula grabbed Janna and flew down to the lower part with Upsilon accompanying them. Once they were on some pads, the sirens around them started screeching and made it rain, making it seem like they were trying to take them down to the swamp.

"Hey, those sirens are trying to take us down to the swamp," Janna smirked. "Guess we're still swamp wrestling you two."

"No we're not you crazy lady," Nebula huffed and saw a vine above. "We're using the vine to get by."

"Aw come on Nebula," Janna was flung onto the vine by Nebula as she was forced to swing from vine to vine. "You never know how to have fun, can you?"

"Look, I think we have more important things to worry about than having fun," Nebula scoffed. "And besides, I feel that something is lurking in this swamp water."

"Like what, a gator?" Janna snorted. "Because if it is, I'll go gator wrestling for us…"

Something did come out of the swamp water, but it wasn't an alligator. No, this was a deadly sea serpent with some razor sharp teeth and it saw the dreadful team as a midday snack.

"Guys, something is coming for us," Nebula looked and wondered. "What is that thing?"

"Identified as a sea serpent with razor-sharp teeth that resides in the swamp," Upsilon updated.

"Oh, even better than an alligator," Janna looked amazed. "That thing wants us for lunch! I WANNA GO SEA SERPENT WRESTLING!"

"You're absolutely _**crazy**_ Janna," Nebula yelled. "We're about to be eaten, and all you can think of is wrestling with the monster about to eat us!"

"Yes, and I can make things interesting," Janna then jeered at the monster. "Hey knucklehead, those teeth look like they could make a great backscratcher and your mouth is as nasty as your dimwitted brain!"

This only enraged the sea serpent as it roared and was now chasing after them at a fast rate.

"Nice going there Janna," Nebula scowled. "Now you put us in more danger!"

"Must evacuate post haste," Upsilon blared.

"No kidding," Nebula groaned.

"Catch us if you can stupid sea serpent! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Oh for goodness sake," not wanting to deal with this anymore, Nebula grabbed Janna and started flying away with Upsilon activating his boosters to fly away after Nebula and Janna. The Filipino nightmare loving girl was cackling and blowing raspberries at the monster to make fun of it.

While the sea serpent was on their tail, the dreadful team managed to make it to safety as they made it to the outskirts of the swampy jungle part. The sea serpent saw this and growls before sinking back to the bottom of the water.

Once they landed, Nebula stared at Janna with a cold stare.

"Now may I ask what that was for," Nebula scorned. "You were being reckless there, you know that!"

"Come on Nebula, you have to lighten up and enjoy life," Janna cheered. "Besides, that sea serpent was awesome!"

"Hmph, I would rather go with that frog monster we faced in the city dimension than to deal with that menace." Nebula barked.

"What a big-time killjoy," Janna scoffed and rolled her eyes before gazing off into the horizon. She then caught the sight of a blonde haired girl with two male friends.

Her heart skipped a beat. It was Star Butterfly, and she was with Marco Diaz and Andrew Tresor. She was in luck. She was happy to see Marco because she loves teasing him and stealing his house keys. She was happy to see Andrew because he was quite hot and she owes him hugs and kisses from the notes she sent him with her pranks. And she was happy to see Star not just because she's the mayor of detention, but because she could help with sparking a memory in Nebula's mind and she can talk to her about Nebula's amnesia.

Even though she thought back to how if she saw her with Nebula, they may not be happy to see her, she had to take action.

"Well, it's going to be ugly either way," Janna muttered.

She jumped down and motioned Nebula and Janna to follow after her, with the latter calling Janna the strangest girl she's known, unaware that she was about to see a girl far weirder than Janna.

"We'll cut them off and then maybe we might get things _finally_ straighten out…" She muttered to herself as they stayed hot on Team Star's tail…

* * *

The Demonstrix only had three more pixies to track down, as they kept up the search for them, not thinking of giving up once.

"Are we just about done yet," Archibald was growing impatient. "I'm getting bored of this."

"Relax Archibald, we only have three pixies left to find. We're almost done," Tom assured him as they came across not a pixie, but a yellow flower that they needed to use to fly over.

After some encouragement was made, they used the flower to reach the lower part of the swamp area. From there, they encountered some more of Ludo's monsters crawling about and hunting for the pixies. Buff Frog standing firm and tall decided to get them in a sticky situation.

"Alright comrades, let's stick 'em with beating they shall not forget," Buff Frog popped in some chewing prum in his mouth and started chewing it. He then blew multiple bubbles that stuck to the monsters. Once they popped, they got stuck by the prum, allowing Tom to make the strike and fried them with his fireballs. Archibald did his part by securing the 8th pixie that they rescued.

"Alright, two more pixies to find," Archibald whooped.

Tom then looked above and saw that the 9th pixie was on top of the platform.

"Hey guys, the 9th pixie is right above us." The demon pointed upward.

"Alright, let's rescue it," Archibald said.

Buff Frog nodded as he leaped up there, Tom levitated up to the platform, and Archibald flew up there by himself. Eventually, they claimed the 9th pixie for themselves.

"Alright, we got nine pixies guys," the gargoyle was ecstatic.

"We only need to find one more," Tom grinned.

"Let's go find final pixie," Buff Frog motioned.

The three of them then trekked through the jungle to find the last pixie…

* * *

"They're firing at us," Daron cried. "We can only dodge them for so long!"

"I know," Jackie seemed concerned. "What should we do?"

"No worries gurls, I've got this covered," Pony Head stepped up.

The floating unicorn head then flew over and fired several laser beams at the monsters. With five beams of energy shot, the craw monsters fell off the bat monsters and fell into the swampy water, essentially drowning. The bat monsters were taken out of the sky thanks to Pony Head's attack. They too ended up drowning in the swampy water.

At that point, Daron found a good place to land.

"Alright gurls, I cleared those monsters out so we can press on," Pony Head floated back to her teammates.

"Great job Pony Head," Daron thanked her. "I found a landing spot down below for us to continue on foot."

"Yeah, great work Pony Head," Jackie winked. "You were amazing."

"Now we can finally press onward," Daron let out a sigh of relief.

"You said it, sistah," Pony Head smiled.

The three of them then guided the flower to a nice landing spot where they can continue on foot shortly afterwards…

* * *

After taking a long trip with the flying yellow flower, Team Star found themselves at the end of the swampy part of the jungle.

Almost that is.

"Alright guys, we just have to cross this swamp just to get to the outer part of the swamp," Star was energized. "Let's roll."

"I don't know Star, there could be something in that swamp," Andrew was hesitant.

"Come on Andrew," Star dragged him onto some pads. "Don't be a chicken."

"I think Andrew might be onto something," Marco said. "We don't know what could be lurking in that swampy water."

"So it might be a monster, big deal," Star brushed off. "We've faced several monsters plenty of times."

"What about those that are huge and are trying to eat you," Marco deadpanned.

"Well, no," Star said flatly.

"Then it isn't a good idea," Andrew growled.

"We have to," Star then saw something nearby and smirked. "Besides the sirens nearby are about to take us down to the swamp…"

"WHAT!" Marco and Andrew jolted to the sirens who were screeching and the pads they were standing on started to disappear. Star tossed both of them onto the vines above and got them to swing from one to another. Star followed after them.

"See, isn't this fun," Star chirped.

"I mean it Star. Something is in that water," Andrew had a grip on his hat.

"Like what," Star snorted. "Buff Frog's long distant cousin Gruff Frog?"

Then on cue, something did pop out of the water, but it wasn't Gruff Frog. No, this was the same sea serpent that chased after Team Dread earlier. Andrew heard it splash and he flinched.

"What's that," Andrew winced. "You see, there's something really _big_ in this swamp!"

Marco saw it for himself and stuttered, eyes growing wide.

"GUYS, IT'S A SERPENT," he cried. "A GIANT SEA SERPENT AND IT WANTS _US_ FOR A MIDDAY SNACK!"

"How interesting," Star smirked. "Let's see who's faster."

"We're about to be eaten alive by a giant hungry sea serpent, and all you can think of is seeing if we're faster than it," Andrew was in distaste at how Star saw this as a competition and not as a threat.

"Uh yeah, we outrun danger every day," Star was confident.

"Andrew isn't wrong Star, that sea serpent really wants to eat us," Marco brought up. "Remember that dimension we went to where we went inside a sleeping monster's innards just to retrieve a sandwich that you wanted to get?"

"Uh, yeah?" Star wasn't sure what he was getting at.

"Well this is like that event," Marco added. "Except this time, WE'RE THE _SANDWICHES_ TO THE SEA SERPENT!"

"And I don't want to become an appetizer!" Andrew wailed.

"Oh for the love of, let's go then," Star groaned as she grabbed both Marco and Andrew and started flying through the swamp in an attempt to outrun the sea serpent. The sea serpent remained hot on their tail as Andrew had to make sure his hat didn't become dessert for the fiend.

Eventually, they got by and the sea serpent couldn't chase after them anymore. The serpent growled and sunk back under the swamp water.

Once they got back onto solid ground, Star had let go of Marco and Andrew and felt her blood pumping.

"Woohoo, I feel the blood pumping from that exciting predicament!"

"Oh Star, that predicament has left me dazed," Andrew grumbled.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Marco looked ready to puke.

"Oh you two, it's a shame you can't enjoy that kind of fun like I can." Star shook her head.

"Forget it Star," Andrew wanted to drop it. "Just get us to the higher ground above so we can plan our next destination."

"Ha, _plan_," Star brushed off. "Who needs a plan, when we rely on opportunities?"

She grabbed Marco and Andrew and brought them to the higher ground as they started running off, and Star was ready to brace for whatever will come their way next. They were completely unaware of what they were going to encounter shortly…

* * *

Team Sparkle rushed through a small patch of mushrooms that were glowing purple. Daron was going on foot, Pony Head was floating and Jackie decided to use her skateboard to get by. As it seems, Jackie was amazed by the sight around them, as was Pony Head and Daron.

"Okay girls, we are close to getting to the end of the swampy jungle," Daron smiled as they kept walking.

Eventually, they finally made their way out of the swampy jungle and were on the outskirts of it. That was pretty easy.

"Awesome job girls," Daron cheered. "We did a good job getting by here!"

"I'll say, gurlfriend," Pony Head whinnied. "We are a wonderful team."

"You said it dudette," Jackie whooped. "I'm impressed that the three of us have got this far in this journey."

"Goes to show you that a nerdy girl, a floating unicorn head and a skateboarder chick who is half mermaid make a wonderful team together," Daron gushed.

"No kidding Daron," Pony Head chuckled.

Both Daron and Pony Head started dancing together as they were out of the swampy jungle, while Jackie just stood there with her arms crossed, smirking while watching them celebrate. They were happy to be out of the swamp, but they were unaware that someone nearby was watching them, or had detected them…

* * *

The Demonstrix had just found their final pixie on a nearby rock, picked it up and informed their client on their success. Of course, the client told them to stand guard until he gives them the signal to head to the next dimension. Tom and Archibald were happy to have gotten that done.

"We did a good job collecting those pixies," Archibald cheered. "Now they'll be safe from the wrath of Ludo."

"Hopefully our next mission will be an act of sabotaging more of Ludo's plan," Tom smirked while crossing his arms.

Buff Frog meanwhile, admired the swampy area around him, and he was so into it that he didn't notice the cyan colored rock in his path, which he tripped over and fell onto his stomach. This actually got Tom and Archibald's attention as they saw him lying down.

"Getting a little carried away with looking at your swampy surroundings, eh Buff Frog," Tom teased with a smirk on his face.

"No Tom," Buff Frog groaned. "It vas just unfortunate placement of rock I tripped on."

"You mean this rock," Archibald picked up the 'rock' which was revealed to be a glowing cyan gemstone. Tom recognized it and grew wide-eyed. "It looks like a piece of candy."

Just as he was about to chomp down on it, Tom quickly took it away with his telekinesis, causing Archibald to chew on nothing.

"Stop you fool," Tom hissed. "Do you not know what _this_ is?"

"It's not some rock candy," Archibald was confused as he scratched his head.

"No, it's a Miracle Gemstone!" The demon yelled.

"Oh boy," this got Buff Frog's attention as an opportunity came in. "Vee could earn couple hundred bucks off of that. Vee could sell it for $650!"

"No, you do not know how _powerful _this thing is! Selling it to Marco will not be worth it," Tom grunted, getting Buff Frog to back off. "Collecting seven of these will create a miracle, and these things have some ultimate power! I know this because Starship showed me one of these some time ago and it looked important. We have to keep this because it might give us the upper hand the next time we go against Ludo!"

"I guess you've got point, Tom," Buff Frog decided to go with that. "Just one of those things is pretty powerful."

"I think I should keep it," Archibald snatched it from Tom. "I was the one who picked it up!"

"Well, I was thinking Buff Frog should keep it since he tripped over it!"

"It doesn't matter who keeps it," Buff Frog yelled as he saw something. "Check this out!"

Archibald put it into his pocket as Buff Frog pointed to a floating unicorn head in the distant.

"See that," the frog monster pointed.

"Isn't that…Pony Head…?" Tom knew Pony Head but he couldn't make her out.

"She has a horn that has magic stored," Archibald knew what they have to do. "Let's snatch it and keep it under protection as our client would want us to do."

"Uh Archibald, there's a problem with that," Tom brought up. "That isn't a pixie, and we shouldn't interfere with that."

"Maybe not, but client might give extra credit for collecting magical unicorn horn and he'll be super proud of us," Buff Frog said. "Let's go and get it from her."

"Oh okay," Tom sighed as he had no choice. The demon prince followed after the frog monster.

"Well let's go for that horn!" Archibald let out a battle cry before following his teammates with the Miracle Gemstone in his pocket. Archibald was also wondering how the Demonstrix members were lucky enough and fortunate enough to run into something as powerful as a Miracle Gemstone…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 14!**

**YUP, THE FIFTH MIRACLE GEMSTONE WAS FOUND BY THE DEMONSTRIX, AND THEY HAVE THEIR FIRST MIRACLE GEMSTONE!**

**OTHER THAN THAT, THAT'S ALL I HAVE! SO YOU CAN REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE, AND TUNE IN FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	16. Sparkle vs Demonstrix! T Star vs Dread!

**CHAPTER 15-SPARKLE VS DEMONSTRIX; STAR VS DREAD:**

* * *

The Demonstrix had jumped down from the perch that they were standing on previously as they headed for Team Sparkle. The girls were planning on making their leave when the Demonstrix approached them and wanted their attention. Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie didn't know what they wanted, but they decided to see what this was all about. Buff Frog decided to speak first over Tom and Archibald, feeling that this situation calls for the casual approach to handling it. Staring Daron in the face, the frog monster then decided to start the talk.

"Excuse me miss," he was giving his formalities. "I vas vondering if vee could ask ya something?"

Daron grew wide-eyed and came up with an assumption: one of these monsters, if not all of them wanted to take her out on a date. Not only was that impossible since she wouldn't date a monster, even if she was friends with one, but her eyes were set on Star. That being said, why would she want to date a monster in the first place?

Putting up her right hand, she brushed them off.

"Okay, if this is about a date you guys want to take me out on, you'll have to wait in line," Daron shrugged before turning to walk away.

Now all the formalities were gone as Buff Frog couldn't believe that Daron thought that they wanted to take her out on a date. Now he had to get to the point whether they liked it or not.

"A DATE," Buff Frog roared, getting the nerdy girl to turn back around. "Ya think this is joke, ya little brat!?"

Before Daron could retort to that, Tom stepped in and made his statement.

"Now how about you girls make this easy for us and hand over the unicorn horn this instant," Tom pointed to the horn that was Pony Head's.

Now Pony Head had a look of horror cross her face. She remembered the last time she lost her horn. She had gone to visit St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses, which was run by Princess Arms, to see how the curriculum got tougher. Then Miss Heinous (aka Meteora) with Gemini and Rasticore invaded the school for some other important business regarding Meteora's past. Unfortunately, Pony Head tried to pick a fight with Meteora and it resulted in her horn getting ripped off. Afterwards, she lost all her will to go on while spending her days watching a Korean soap opera called 'Bam Ui Pati!' while lying in bed. It had to take Star and 3 of her sisters Azniss, Khrysthalle and Hornanne to chase after her while her on and off again boyfriend Seahorse kept her from them. In the end, Seahorse created a 3D horn resembling her old one from a 3D printer in his van and she was able to use magic with her horn again.

And now here she was again, about to have her horn taken from her by Tom, Archibald and Buff Frog. Feeling she wasn't going to go down without a fight, she glowered at them.

"No, you guys _aren't_ stealing mah horn," she sneered.

"But you don't understand," Tom tried his best to reason with her. "We need that horn because it contains some magic that Ludo could have possession of, and if he gets his hands on it, he'll be powerful. So we need to keep that horn away from Ludo!"

Of course, Pony Head wasn't willing to listen to him. In fact, based on what she heard him say about magic and wanting to take, she came to a quick assumption.

"You know, I betcha you're the three jerks who stole mah medallion and Jackie's magic seashell heirloom necklace!" She yelled.

Now Buff Frog was _twice_ as mad. Not only were they accused of wanting to date Daron, but now they were being accused of stealing a medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace that has mermaid magic.

_**"****VAT!?"**_ The frog monster bellowed, venting his frustration.

Now it was Jackie's turn to step up, as she leered at the three that were in front of them.

"Okay, the way you three are treating my friends is way past _uncool_, dudes," she glowered.

Feeling that this situation calls for a fight, Archibald got into the center and yelled out a battle signal.

"Alright, if that's how you want to play, then it's time to rock and roll!" Archibald did one of those rock signs with his fingers as a fight was about to begin. Daron was in no mood to pick a fight with these monsters.

"Ugh, we're sorry but we don't have time for this nonsense," Daron huffed. "Let's go girls."

Just as she started to walk away, Buff Frog ran from behind and grabbed a hold of her to keep her from leaving. Tom then lowered down in front of her while leering at her.

"Ugh, let go of _me_," Daron squirmed. "Do you creeps happen to know that I'm a _lady_?!"

"Who cares what you are," Tom warned. "We just want that horn and then we'll leave."

"You're not getting _my_ horn," Pony Head hissed.

"Vell, vee vill just hold nerdy girl hostage until you do," Buff Frog grunted.

"Not if _I_ have anything to say about it," the skateboarder girl got ready to fight.

"Say vat," Buff Frog couldn't finish as Jackie delivered a karate kick to the frog monster, getting him to let go of Daron. Daron then reacted by getting out her fake wand and preparing to attack Tom.

"You _bully,_" Daron sneered at the demon in front of her. "You try messing with Pony Head, and you get to mess with me big time!"

"Well if you want a fight," Tom created some fireballs. "Then bring it on!"

The demon started hurling the fireballs at Daron, who jumped over them and ducked under them too. All the fighting she's done with monsters really paid off. Archibald started to chase Pony Head around to get the horn. Meanwhile, Buff Frog decided to handle Jackie, who has proven to be a karate fighter with the karate chops and jabs she delivered so far. To him, her fighting style reminded him of that of the karate boy: Marco. Fortunately, Buff Frog decided to play the upper hand as he got out some chewing prum, popped one into his mouth and started chewing it up. Tom had noticed this as the frog monster started to blow bubbles.

"For goodness sake Buff Frog, I better not hear _another _pun," Tom groaned as he held Daron's fake wand in both hands.

"I vould have avoided it, but now I'll give them something to _chew _on," Buff Frog then blew some bubbles as they were heading right for Jackie. The skateboarder girl looked shocked as she wondered if that was bubblegum that he was using.

"Oh my," Jackie then felt the bubbles pop all around her, getting her stuck and unable to move. She then saw Buff Frog charging right for her, where he punched her right in the chest and knocked her over. It freed her from most of the prum, but some of it was still stuck on her shirt and parts of her hair. As she rolled onto the ground, Buff Frog got his hands up in an apologetic manner.

"Look, I'm sorry for cheap trick, but your leader had to start things and get us riled up," he tried to apologize.

Jackie got up and ended up delivering a glare to the frog monster.

"You went and grabbed a hold of Daron, threatened Pony Head to hand over her horn, get me stuck in this _sticky_ stuff and punch me in the chest, and now you have the nerve to apologize to _me?!"_ The normally cool chick had let loose some _justified_ anger. "You should know not to mess with my friends!"

"Look, ve're only taking orders from client," Buff Frog yelled. "This vas only idea that was part of job vee are doing for client!"

Jackie pulled some of the prum off of her hair and still gave him a firm look.

"Well, whoever your client is supposed to be is a _real_ jerk!"

"Vee don't even know vho client is," Buff Frog defended. "Although I've got funny feeling that I might know vho client is…"

As Buff Frog was pondering about the identity of the client, Jackie pulled off the rest of the prum from her hair and off her shirt and tossed it onto the ground next to her. She then got out her skateboard and helmet and got herself positioned and started circling around the frog monster, where her fist collided with Buff Frog's chest. This got him to scream before one of the wheels on the skateboard ran over one of his feet. As he was jumping and wincing his foot, Jackie jumped off her skateboard and delivering another karate chop to the face, getting him to fall onto the ground.

As with Pony Head, she was still being chased by Archibald who was destined on getting the horn off of her.

"Now give me that horn right this instant," Archibald warned. "That horn is going to get our client super proud of us!"

Seeing that flying away would be pointless, she decided to show her who this gargoyle is messing with.

"Alright then," she cocked. "If you want my horn, _come and __**get **__it."_

That was the encouragement that Archibald needed to charge for her. But he didn't count on the floating unicorn head to fire a blast of energy at the gargoyle, sending him careening to a tree with some substances preventing him from getting out.

"Hey Tom, a little help over here," Archibald cried out.

"I'm busy with my own problem," Tom was dealing with Daron, whose anger was only rising the more Tom tried to oppose her. She had snatched her fake wand from Tom's grip and snarled at him. This was enough to make the demon recoil a bit. The last person Tom saw this angry to the point where he winced was Marco when he lied to him about being a fan of Mackie Hand and only used him just to earn an anger-free badge. Marco was so angry that he managed to kick the lock to his chariot and break it to pieces. Now it seems Daron was getting to that same level of anger.

"Now this is your last chance to give up on stealing Pony Head's horn," the nerdy girl hissed with a warning, holding her fake wand in a threatening manner. "And you've got _five seconds_ to give us Pony Head's medallion and Jackie's seashell heirloom necklace…"

"But we didn't steal anything," Tom threw his hands up in defense.

"_Liar,"_ Daron growled. "If you didn't, then why are you creeps so determined with stealing a magical horn off of Pony Head's head?"

"Look, there's been a miscommunication here," the demon tried to explain. "Listen, if you can just let me explain, I'll-"

"Explain this," Daron wasted no time with smacking Tom right across the head with her fake wand. This sent Tom flying right into Buff Frog, whom he bounced off of, and the frog monster got him away since he was still dealing with Jackie.

Buff Frog tried to aim a punch on the skateboarder girl's chest again, but Jackie expected this and jumped out of the way, landing right on Buff Frog's back where she delivered a brutal kick which knocked him down. Jackie was about to land another punch, but Buff Frog turned around quickly, used his extractable tongue and wrapped it around Jackie's right foot where he proceeded to bash her from the left side to the right side consecutively. He eventually showed her mercy by releasing her and leaving her in a daze.

"Guess ya didn't know how to bite ya _tongue_, eh," Buff Frog smirked as Jackie was still trying to regaining herself.

Tom was heard coughing obnoxiously before letting out a snarl in Daron's direction and disappeared by making flames surround him. Daron was confused as she wondered where the heck he went.

"What the heck," Daron was gritting her teeth. "Come out and fight me, you _coward_!"

"With pleasure," Tom managed to toss a fireball from above which hit her right in the head, leaving behind a burn.

"Ouch, that burns," Daron yelped.

"You think that_ burns_," Tom sneers. "Try to handle_ this._"

Tom then summoned a flame wheel that surrounded Daron and trapping her, leaving her unable to get out of there.

"I'm still stuck to this tree," Archibald cried out for help.

Pony Head saw what Tom and Buff Frog did to her partners Daron and Jackie respectively. They were going through all this trouble just to steal her horn. This was it. This fight had to end now.

"Get outta there and give us assistance," Buff Frog grumbled, pulling Archibald off the tree. "Vee have to finish these girls off with powerful team move!"

"Wait, finish them," Archibald was confused. "I thought we were only interested in Pony Head's horn and nothing else."

"Forget the horn now, these twerps pushed us way_ too far_ for us to show them mercy," Tom growled darkly, his eyes completely red and flames emerging from both hands. "Now this is _personal_…"

"I've got better idea Tom, and it doesn't involve _killing_ them," Buff Frog had a devilish smirk. "It involves torturing them by their ears."

"If you say so…" The demon groaned as he knew what they have to do.

Meanwhile, Pony Head cleared out the flame wall Daron was trapped in and helped her out, while Jackie got onto her feet and stumbled back to her teammates. Daron saw they were planning something with an electric guitar, a marching drum, and a microphone.

"Okay, what are those jerks up to now," Daron scowled, rubbing the back of her neck which still felt that burn. "That bully Tom, thinking he has the right to leave a burn on my neck and then trap me in a wall of fire…such a lack of chivalry."

"Uh, I don't think that's the only thing we have to worry about," Jackie was wide-eyed. "Look at what they're doing."

"Oh no," Pony Head was shocked.

It was then that the Demonstrix started to do one of the worst things to all living beings in the universe…at least to the ears: The Monster Recital.

Tom started by playing that electric guitar poorly while looking annoyed with playing the instrument he hates to play. This was followed by Archibald banging on the marching drum in an anonymous manner while bearing that goofy grin on his face. Suddenly, Buff Frog jumped down between them and started howling and screaming into the microphone in such an obnoxious manner.

This got Daron, Pony Head and Jackie to get onto the ground and cover their ears…well since Pony Head doesn't have hands; she had to fold her ears to block out the horrid sound.

"Ugh, what is that horrid racket," Daron yelled.

"It sounds like they're playing a badly put together reception," Pony Head whined. "And it's killing my ears!

"What a cheap trick," Jackie grimaced. "That frog monster's singing is even worse than Brittany Wong's singing!"

"You think the_ singing_ is bad," Daron yelled. "The way Tom and Archibald are playing instruments is so terrible, they make Oskar Greason play like Beethoven!"

"No kidding gurllfriend," Pony Head hollered in agony.

After seeing how weakened they were by their performance, the Demonstrix decided to call it quits by putting away their instruments and approaching the three girls. Archibald and Tom high five each other while Buff Frog crossed his arm in a proud manner.

"Vee are sorry for this ladies, but vee took it easy on ya. Ya should be grateful that Tom didn't burn ya three alive," he glowered. "This round is on us. Now give us that unicorn horn…"

"Not if I can help it," Pony Head hovered and loomed right over the three of them, charging her horn up yet again.

Before any of them could react, they got shot and zapped like crazy by the magic being fired from her horn, leaving them burned from the attack. Jackie got onto her feet next as she jumped and delivered a jump kick to Buff Frog, sending him backward with the skateboarder girl dishing out some more attacks on him.

"Just give us that unicorn horn and we'll be going," Archibald tried to be calm, but Pony Head huffed.

"Never," Pony Head glowered. "I already lost mah medallion, and you aren't getting my horn!"

Pony Head then jab her horn at Archibald, getting him onto the ground as he was poked multiple times.

"Alright, I won't take your horn, I won't take your horn," the gargoyle surrendered.

"But we _need_ to get that horn to safety before Ludo gets a hold of it," Tom charged for Pony Head, but the floating unicorn head soared out of the way just in the nick of time for Tom to miss and land right on top of Archibald.

By then, Jackie had Buff Frog in her hands as she started to spin around while gripping the frog monsters legs. Once she was done, she released him and he was tossed through the air, where he landed right on top of Tom and Archibald. For extra measures, Jackie karate chopped all three of them in the face to show them that she means business.

"You'll _never_ get my horn," Pony Head bellowed before stabbing them one with the horn that they wanted to take from her.

Then as a final blow, Daron bashed their heads in with her fake wand, not saying another word.

"This is a huge misunderstanding…" Tom moaned as the girls were just about done with them.

"Let's get out of here girls," Daron motioned to them to leave this dimension. "These_ losers_ aren't worth the trouble."

"Right on sistah," Pony Head got out her dimension scissors and cut open a portal as she entered it and was followed by Daron. Before she could follow after, Jackie gave them one last warning glance.

"Just remember, the next time you want to pick a _fight_ with _us_, we won't be _easy_ on you," she warned them with a firm look in her eyes.

With that said and done, she entered the portal after her partners. The portal disappeared shortly afterwards. The Demonstrix couldn't believe it. They had lost a fight to a bunch of girls; two of which were humans no less. That had to be very _humiliating_.

After groaning about their defeat for several moments, Buff Frog got off his partners, stood up with bruises all over his body as he took out his dimension scissors. He cut open a portal and directed his comrades to it.

"Okay comrades, let's get into portal," he moaned.

Tom and Archibald got up and the three of them entered the portal in the same manner that Ludo's monsters always walked to the portal every time they got beaten up by Star and had to retreat.

"This is ridiculous, I mean look at _us,_" Archibald whined with sheer irony. "We even _retreat_ like losers!"

"Don't remind me," Buff Frog grumbled.

"Let's just get out of here," Tom sneered.

The Demonstrix then entered the portal and were heading to the next dimension; the same one that Team Sparkle had just left for, but they wouldn't mess with them the next time they encountered them…

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Star decided to trek through the jungle dimension for a bit longer, unaware that they were being watched by Team Dread above a perch. Janna was hopeful but didn't let it be known by her teammates, while Nebula too a gander at Star and then everything clicked.

_She _was the blonde haired girl from the Coastal Ruins Dimension.

_She _was the same girl in the first vision she got from the green Miracle Gemstone.

That girl knew something about her, whether it was a single moment or longer, or even her _entire_ past.

"Look, it's that _blonde haired girl_," Nebula muttered to herself as she didn't want to be heard.

"I wonder what the big rush is all about," Janna asked genuinely. She noticed that not only Star was down there, but Marco and Andrew too. She then added an extra comment to contain her excitement. "I bet you that those guys will end up getting in my way and making trouble."

Fortunately, Andrew overheard that and looked up and saw Janna for a couple of seconds before his eyes landed on Nebula, the _last_ person that he'd expect to run into. Marco ended up taking notice of them too and was in shock.

"Hey, isn't that…?" Andrew was lost for words.

"Star," Marco couldn't believe what he was seeing; Nebula was above and in the flesh.

Star herself ended up looking up and studied Nebula the entire time as a range of emotions overtook her. The girl she saw last before she sacrificed herself for the universe, the same reason why she disappeared from her friends for five months, was staring her right in the face. Star was absolutely puzzled by Nebula's miraculous recovery.

Despite this, she kept that grin and looked in admiration.

"Huh, well what do you know," the Mewni princess smirked. "Talk about being stubborn and full of surprises."

Janna shook her head and disregarded Star and turned to face Marco and Andrew.

"Well it's great to see you again Marco and Andrew, my two favorite boys that I love to tease a lot," Janna smirked. "But it's a shame that you came all this way for nothing because we'll take it from here."

"What did you say," Andrew growled, already growing frustrated by Janna's attitude.

"Janna…" Marco groaned.

"Sensors locked on Ludo: non-compliant intruders will be destroyed!" Upsilon blared, getting them both to jump.

It then dawned onto Star. _They_ were the third team that was after Ludo besides her team, Team Sparkle and the Demonstrix. Now she knew who else was after him and who the three mystery heroes were.

Despite this, Star was still smiling as she shrugged.

"Huh, well didn't you guys know," she started. "_We_ have a date with Ludo too."

"Is that so, huh," Nebula deadpanned. "Well then, it'll be a date to _**die**_ for."

"Hey wait a minute, that's _**my**_ line," the Mewni princess then jumped up and started flying with her butterfly wings. Nebula then jumped while flying with her dragonfly wings and was heading for Star.

What Star didn't count on was for Nebula to tackle her and pin her right onto a rock. Star was definitely not expecting this and was tipped off by the fact that something wasn't _right_ here.

"What the heck Nebula, what are you doin-"

Nebula stopped her from finishing as she started to roughen her up a little bit. She was about to question the blonde hair Mewni girl heavily, but Upsilon had other plans in mind.

"Mysterious group lead by a Nebula look-a-like: Must Destroy Immediately!" Upsilon fired in all directions, getting Star, Marco and Andrew to scatter quickly. Star flew up into the air, Marco ran off to the right, and Andrew drilled down into the ground, only to pop out moments later to land a strike at Upsilon's torso.

"Oh my goodness, what a ruthless bunch," Andrew guffawed, getting onto the ground and readying his fists again.

Janna got into his face and shook her head.

"Sorry, but there's no time for greetings," Janna then started swinging her hairdryer around. "Though it's good to see you again _Andy_…"

"Don't call me that," Andrew started to swat at her. "What do you even want with us? We're on a deadline you know!"

"Well…" Janna swept her legs from under Andrew. "Nebula and Upsilon are en route to kill you all. I, however, _need_ to talk to Star."

"Star," Andrew was completely wide-eyed. "Why Star though?"

"It's absolutely important," Janna suddenly yelled, getting Andrew caught off guard. "Unless you want me to focus my attention on you."

She started speaking in that flirtatious tone that Andrew knew darn well what she was pulling.

"After all, I still _owe_ you all those hugs _and_ kisses from the notes I sent you with those pranks I pulled on you for the past five months."

Andrew was flustered and insisted that she can talk to Star.

"No, no, no, NO," Andrew grumbled, pointing Janna to where Star was. "Star is over there, so feel free to talk it up with her."

Currently, Star had her hands full with Nebula, so Janna thought that it'd be best if she didn't get involved…although that was probably for the best too.

Nebula had fought furiously with the spells that she could remember, infuriated by the fact that she knew little to nothing about her past, but the blonde girl in front of her seems to have some knowledge about her. Star didn't say a word though. From her perspective, Nebula was still Nebula, and she assumed that Nebula remembers everything that had occurred between the two. The rivalry, the universe on the verge of being imploded, the change of heart Nebula had at the last minute, and the sacrifice she made to save everyone in the universe…including Star.

"What's the matter," Nebula questioned as she fired a Dark Purple Lightning Spear which made a direct hit to Star. "You seem like the chatty type, no?"

Star was still recovering from the strike she made before feeling an uppercut across her cheek. As of now, it seems that Nebula had _no_ recollection of her heroic action from 5 months ago.

It's as if she had reverted back to her revenge-seeking former self.

"Huh, not the best way to greet those you haven't seen in a while Nebula," Star fired a Rolling Thunder Lightning Blast at Nebula, which struck her across the face. But that wasn't what threw her off the edge. The comment that Star just made was what struck her.

"Wait…_what?_" Nebula was at a loss.

"Don't you remember _us_ Nebula," Marco had yelled as he dodged some more of Upsilon's ammunition.

"You think she would," Andrew added before throwing himself onto Upsilon and punching the exterior. "Considering that she is the _ultimate life form_."

"How…how do you know I'm the ultimate life form, and how do you know me?" Nebula was unsure of what to say at the moment as she was lost in thought. While she was trying to sort things out, Janna seized the moment to grab Star by the hand and drag her over to a nearby rock. Star noticed the look on Janna's face and saw that she needed to talk to her.

"Janna Banana, what the heck is going on here?" Star had to ask in regards to Nebula's behavior.

Janna sighed as she started to reveal the truth.

"Okay Star, I'm going to make this short; Nebula has amnesia and she can't remember anything from 5 months ago, or from before that," Janna told her as Star took that information.

"Huh," Star started to understand what Janna was saying. "Well that's why she's been acting the way she has, but why is she demanding answers from me? There's no way she could remember me?"

"The Miracle Gemstone gave her a vision," Janna continued. "Apparently you were in it, and along with Ludo, she thinks you could answer some of her questions."

"I see, even with amnesia, I'm too prominent to forget," Star chuckled, peering over the rock and seeing that Andrew was holding off Nebula while Janna was talking to her. "Still though Janna, have you told her anything yet?"

"No, I was waiting," Janna hung her head low in shame. "I thought that you'd be able to trigger a memory, and I was half right."

"Don't be upset Janna, I know that she has no memory, but I can make sure it will work," Star assured her buddy.

"Really," Janna looked a little hopeful. "You can help me out with this, _Mayor_?"

"I can _try_, but I can't say for sure that I'll be able to succeed," Star told her Filipino partner in crime. "Still while I try to help, I think you better tell Nebula _everything_ she needs to know now, or else it'll get-HEY!"

"Tell me _what?_" Nebula scowled, apparently having rammed right through Andrew to get to her after overhearing parts of it. She had hurled Star into the clearing prior to that. Janna gasped and turned to Nebula for what she did to Star. She was thinking about chastising her for doing that to Star when she was talking to her. But her decision was made when Andrew tackled her to the ground and knocked her down. Nebula was about to aid Janna with Andrew, only for Star to get in the way and summoned a spell to keep her back.

"So Nebula," Star started with a cocky grin, ducking under Nebula's kicks. "You _really_ can't remember anything, can you?"

"Unless you feel like telling me what you know, I'd recommend not patronizing me about it," Nebula snarled.

"You really don't remember me, your old buddy: Star Butterfly?" Star seemed hurt when she asked that question.

That name clicked in Nebula's brain in an instant.

"So, you're the Star Butterfly that Janna and Ludo mentioned." Nebula pieced together as she fired a Dark Purple Lightning Spear.

"That'd be me, Ludo is my archenemy," Star had a proud look on her face while she fired a Rainbow Blast in retaliation. "And Janna's my best bud. We had detention together, and now we're best chums. Marco and Andrew are also my comrades."

"Huh, so it seems," Nebula growled as Star noticed that they were fighting in a jungle area, which coincidentally was the environment that Star and Nebula had their first fight in.

"So you don't remember, allow me to refresh your memory: Rainbow Fist Punch," Star fired a Rainbow Fist Punch at Nebula, catching her off guard and getting her onto the ground. Wiping her mouth, she snarled.

"Alright, you asked for it: Dark Purple Fist Punch," she fired a dark purple fist punch from her wand in retaliation. It did make contact to Star and caused some bruises, but that didn't stop Star from smiling at her.

"See, now you're getting the _hang_ of it," Star smirked.

As Star and Nebula continued fighting, Nebula felt her mind stumble. Star was definitely the toughest opponent she has faced to date (with no memories), and not only did Star recognized her, but her pals Marco and Andrew recognized her as well.

She had to wonder what she was like _before_ she lost her memories.

Meanwhile, as Star was preoccupied with Nebula and refreshing her memory in combat, and Janna and Andrew were catching up on 'good' times, Marco was left to deal with Upsilon alone. This proved to be a problem though, because not only was Marco unable to karate chop through the titanium-like metal of Upsilon where he winces and his hands throb, but the robot proved to be quite a force to toy with since he was firing bullets all over the place. It didn't help that even with kicks; they hardly left a dent on the exterior. It was only a matter of time before Marco was going to be screwed thanks to this powerful robot. Marco was still running as Upsilon kept firing away at him.

"Ordinary Earth boy cannot escape from me," Upsilon blared as he kept firing with ease.

"What do you want from _me_," Marco cried. "I thought you were after Ludo-AAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

One of the projectiles made contact with his hood while barely hitting his skin. The impact caused Marco to yelp before barreling onto the ground, getting him to come to a stop. Upsilon thundered up to him and was preparing to open fire at him, but Marco scurried away before he got hit. Unfortunately, before Marco could frantically get to safety, Upsilon grabbed him by the arms and had a really tight grip on him, refusing to let go. With a firm grip, the robot held the hand that was gripping Marco into the air before blasting.

**"ONE LESS SUPPORTER: NOW I SHALL DESTROY YOU ALL!"**

"MARCO!" Star and Andrew shouted simultaneously before pushing their respective attackers off of them. Janna was left in a daze while Nebula was racing after Star. Upsilon whirled around and turned the arm that wasn't gripping Marco into a blaster and was planning on blasting both Star and Andrew to bits. One thing he didn't count on was the fact that Star and Andrew were about to put in a team effort as they exchanged looks.

"This one is for Marco," they both shouted in unison. Star then fired a Mega Rainbow Fist Punch while Andrew drilled and delivered multiple punches to the robot. The force of both attacks combined was so powerful, that it was able to knock down Upsilon. Upsilon was knocked out into unconsciousness and shut down temporarily while releasing his grip on Marco, allowing the Latino to slump onto the ground while gripping his arm. Nebula felt easily discouraged about how Star and Andrew easily overtook their ultimate fighting machine of a companion. As Marco was back onto the ground, Star rushed over to her while Andrew left to take care of Janna again, since he knows that Marco is being tended to by Star herself.

"Marco, please tell me that you're alright," Star begged.

"I'm alright Star," Marco coughed. "But I'm gonna sit the rest of this fight out. That robot packed a serious punch."

With a simple nod, Star helped Marco to the sideline where he could recover himself before darting off and dealing with Nebula again. Marco ended up passing out onto the grass after that. Now it was Star vs. Nebula and Andrew vs. Janna…although by the look on Janna's face, it was clear that Janna was about to throw in the towel quite soon too.

"Well, I talked to Star," Janna groaned, kicking in Andrew's direction repeatedly. "But it hardly did any good, even though she'll _try_ to help out."

"What's wrong, did your little talk with Star not go as plan," Andrew teased, only to be met in the face by a hairdryer.

"_Not really_," Janna seethed, trying to get a hold of her emotions. "I just want to help Nebula, and so does Star, but we don't know what to do as of now, and I'm afraid of telling her myself…"

"Tell _who_ what?"

"YOU NEVER MIND," Janna shouted, landing a kick into Andrew's chest which knocked the wind right out of him. "You just better stay out of my way if you know what's best for you!"

"What about Star?" Andrew asked.

"I don't have a problem with Star because I trust her," Janna snorted. "After all, she is my _Mayor."_

"I still don't understand why you keep referring to her as a mayor…"

"Because we had detention together," Janna landed a punch on the treasure hunter's chest. "You'll see, we'll capture Ludo, Nebula will get her answers, Upsilon will get his revenge, and I'll finally get Ludo's secret supernatural artifact!"

"Of course, it's **always** about the artifacts with you Janna," Andrew sighed as he countered back by gripping Janna's wrist and flipping her over his head. "I swear, those artifacts will be the _death_ of you someday, and I won't be there to _save _you when you go careening off that ledge."

Janna noticeably blushed as she was about to aim one last kick, but Andrew caught it with his own two hands and pushed her back, shoving her right into the dirt and grass. Janna sat back up, debating on whether or not she wants to fight anymore. But on the other hand, she really didn't want to just from staring Andrew right in the eye.

It was then Janna decided to surrender as she fell flat onto her back. When Andrew saw this and assumed she wasn't going to fight anymore, he decided to leave her be. Andrew saw Star and Nebula sparing it out in the air while flying, so he decided to glide up over to Star.

"Okay Star, two people down, and only one to go," Andrew told his companion. "So how are we going to deal with Nebula?"

Star didn't even need time to think of a plan, so she just blurted her response.

"Throw me towards Nebula and I'll handle the rest," Star directed, getting her wand out to us. Andrew blinked at this.

"But we don't have Marco-"

"Just throw _me_," Star demanded.

Nebula had taken notice that both of her teammates were taken out of the picture for this fight, and now she was the last one standing. She was outnumbered by Star and Andrew. She couldn't believe how powerful the opposing team was. As a last resort, she charged right for Andrew, who was able to grab the dark girl with both of his hands and held her off for as long as he could. Eventually, Andrew pointed downward and bowled her down to a nearby tree, keeping her from interfering with the teamwork strike. Nebula got herself stretched out just in time to see Andrew hurl Star in her direction; her wand out and being ready to use. Of course, Nebula could have rolled out of the way from this attack, but that wasn't how it was supposed to end, was it?  
She then braced herself for the final attack Star had to finish her off with.

"Alright Nebula, it's time to finish this fight: Mega Rainbow Blast!"

A powerful Rainbow Blast hit Nebula right in the chest and it was so forceful, that it knocked her into a nearby rock and caused her to go into a daze as she couldn't fight anymore.

"Whoa, who are you…to be able to defeat me…?" Nebula groaned.

Star had a lopsided expression on her face while sighing. "I wish you could remember Nebula."

Star and Andrew then went over to help Marco onto his feet as they felt that it was time to leave this dimension. Marco also wished he could have asked more questions himself instead of just running around and avoiding a rampaging robot. Grabbing his arm, he breathed heavily as he knew there was nothing they could do about it right now.

"Oh, if only _we_ had more time," Marco sighed as he looked to the ground.

Star then takes out her dimensional scissors and cuts open a portal for them to enter. Marco entered the portal first, and Andrew followed afterwards once he gave one last glance at Janna and sighed. Before Star could enter the portal herself, she gave Nebula a disappointed expression and shook her head while sighing.

"Nebula, it's great to see you again, _back_ from the dead and all that," she smiled for a brief second before it faltered into a frown again. "It's just a shame that the feeling _can't _be mutual."

Giving her one last saddened glance, Star then turned around and entered the dimension portal. It disappeared shortly after that, as Team Star was heading to the same dimension that the Demonstrix and Team Sparkle were heading. Janna realized that Star unintentionally let an interesting revelation slip that she knew Nebula would never be able to get over.

Once that was set, Janna got up and got out her dimensional scissors and cut open a portal to the next dimension. She helped a dazed Nebula into the portal before working on getting Upsilon into the portal. It took her a couple of minutes, but she was able to eventually get Upsilon in the portal, since the killer robot weights a mass ton. Once Upsilon was in the dimension portal, Janna decided to enter the portal. The nightmare loving girl knew that she had to tell Nebula what she needed to know now that she talked with Star. There was no other choice.

Once Team Dread entered the portal, it disappeared as they were heading to the same dimension that the other teams were heading to…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 15!**

**THAT'S RIGHT! I THINK I DID GOOD WITH THE ACTION FOR THIS CHAPTER, KINDA LIKE CHAPTER 7! YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE NOTICED, BUT I'VE ALLOWED JACKIE TO HAVE MOMENTS WHERE SHE CAN GET ANGRY TOO SINCE EVEN THE COOL COLLECTED PEOPLE LIKE JACKIE CAN GET FURIOUS UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCE. PLUS IT WAS COOL TO SEE TEAM SPARKLE HOLD THEIR OWN AGAINST THE DEMONSTRIX!**

**THE FIGHT AGAIN TEAM STAR AND TEAM DREAD I THINK WAS DONE WELL HERE TOO! NOW WITH THIS CHAPTER DONE, THE NEXT COUPLE OF CHAPTERS IS WHERE THE EXCITEMENT OF THIS STORY STARTS TO KICK UP! I HOPE YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THAT!**

**NOW YOU MAY REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE, AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER TO COME UP!**


	17. Spooky Dimension I

**CHAPTER 16-SPOOKY DIMENSION I:**

* * *

The Demonstrix members were the first to arrive in the next dimension. This dimension was vastly creepier compared to the previous dimensions. For starters, it looked like it was permanent nightfall, and the area was nothing but endless spooky woods. In the center of the dimension however was a spooky castle, which had the appearance of one of those ancient scary castles from times _long_ gone. The area also looked like it was meant to celebrate Halloween in with all the creepy trees, orange leaves, pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns, an ominous fog clouding parts of the castle, and there were plenty of ghosts lurking around, in addition to Ludo's monsters that were patrolling the scary castle.

The Demonstrix members were still contemplating their humiliating defeat against Team Sparkle and how they had their butts owned to them by a couple of girls. All of this was because of a misunderstanding when they were trying to get Pony Head's horn, along with their humiliating loss.

"Talk about a _huge_ misunderstanding…" Tom had groaned, still feeling the sore spots from the beating.

"Yeah," Buff Frog agreed. "Vee sure made fools of ourselves, getting beaten by couple of girls."

"Well that's nothing **new **for _you, _Buff Frog," Archibald teased. "Considering how you use to constantly get _butt owned_ by Star Butterfly in the past."

This actually got Buff Frog aggravated as he didn't like being reminded of that.

"Vat," he growled. "You vere the first to jump at the chance you got!"

It was then their client interrupted their argument, having overheard what they were arguing about.

"Alright fellows, now's not the time to argue, now is the time to remain on guard," the client instructed. "It's very mysterious and spooky in that dimension."

Buff Frog garnered a flat look as he huffed.

"Huh, you think vee are couple of little _scared_ Mewmen," Buff Frog snorted.

"Technically I'm _half _Mewman," Tom corrected before agreeing. "But yeah, I'm also a demon and I was raised in a scarier place than this, so I have nothing to be scared of."

"Yeah, and I'm a gargoyle," Archibald protested, folding his arms. "And I've lived in plenty of spooky castles my whole life!"

"And I'm a frog monster," Buff Frog added. "Even though I've not been to spooky castle, I've been to forests that were as scary as this dimension, so vee are not scared."

"Yes, you make an excellent point, but you'll have to be ready for the next mission," the client reminded.

"Yeah, what is our next mission anyway," the demon queried.

"This is it: you guys are around the outside of a spooky castle in the middle of an endless spooky woods, but at the end of the castle there's a gate that leads out of the castle," the client explained. "But you will need to find keys in order to unlock the gate. Your next mission is to get the 10 keys required to open the gate. Also, you'll have to be on alert, since no one is able to leave that castle in that dimension without your help."

"Vait, lemme get this straight," Buff Frog snatched the talkie from Tom and spoke into it. "Theoretically speaking, if vee don't carry out mission for this creepy castle, then three other teams that are possibly out there can't get through?"

"Exactly, that's what I'm saying. Now look for those 10 keys," the client then hung up after that and the talkie was pocketed.

"Alright, let's go find those 10 keys," Buff Frog got his comrades to follow him.

"Let's do this," Tom was ready for this.

"No problem, let's get going," Archibald was also willing to help.

The three of them trekked through the haunted castle to find the 10 keys needed to unlock the gate so the other teams can make progress through this dimension…

* * *

Team Dread was the next to arrive in the spooky dimension. Janna had taken in her surroundings the moment she got out of that portal, and what she saw left her very interested. She loved the supernatural and occult and this dimension was exactly the kind of place she always wanted to explore. Wanting to make sure there weren't any mistakes, Janna decided to double check for herself.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" She questioned.

Upsilon, who was now operating again after being knocked out by the likes of Star and Andrew in the jungle dimension, decided to answer the question Janna wanted to know.

"Affirmative, this is the correct dimension," the robot confirmed. "Ludo had been spotted here."

_Perfect. _Janna smirked. She was really going to enjoy this dimension and have a little fun while she was at it. She then looked at Nebula who was still quiet after the fight they had with Team Star. Looking a little concerned, she decided to ask.

"What's up Nebula? Is there something on your mind?"

Nebula shook her head and pretended that she wasn't mulling about anything. "Well…nevermind, let's get going."

Believe it or not, Nebula was mulling about something, and it has been going on ever since the fight she had with Star Butterfly.

_That blonde haired girl named Star Butterfly who knows me and looks like me, and what Ludo said about my memory, just who am I?_

Nebula walked right through the castle in an empty minded manner, almost acting like a mummy as a result. Janna didn't like the sight of this. She knew that Nebula was thinking about what Star had mentioned before she left, and it was only a matter of time before Nebula can question her about what Star told her.

The time was drawing in close for her to spill the beans. As she and Upsilon went after Nebula, Janna felt apprehensive, but deep down, she had waited to explain it to her the entire time…

* * *

Team Sparkle had made it to the spooky dimension next, at the castle, and they looked at their surroundings. It was clear that they weren't as thrilled about this as Janna was.

"Uh dudettes are we really in the right dimension," Jackie started. "I think we entered the _wrong_ dimension…"

"I know, this place gives me the chills," Pony Head really didn't like this spooky dimension. "I don't like this place."

"Look, girls, I'm not fond of this place either, but this is the right dimension. I saw Ludo enter this dimension just recently, so we have to be where we need to be," Daron told them. "And if Ludo is here, then that means the medallion and seashell heirloom necklace is here too, so we have to get through this ominous castle."

"Yeah, you have a point gurl," Pony Head still felt uncomfortable, but she knew that Daron was right and they had to put it together and get by here if they have hopes of getting to Ludo. "I guess we can explore this spooky castle."

"Yeah Daron, you're right," Jackie sighed. "Ludo did enter this dimension and we have to get to him."

"Alright girls, then let's get by this scary place." Daron started walking through the castle with her partners following her.

_I sure hope that this doesn't turn out like that horror movie that I saw with Marco that one time. _Jackie thought as she walked along. _Speaking of whom, I hope Marco is okay if he's entered this dimension too…_

* * *

Speaking of whom, Marco and his partners Star and Andrew made it to the dimension where they were at the same castle as the other teams. It was obvious that Marco felt uncomfortable with the scary surroundings.

"Uh Star, are you sure this is the right dimension," Marco felt the chills.

"Yes Marco," Star had a focused face as she walked with her partners. "I saw Nebula and Ludo enter this dimension. This has got to be the right dimension."

"Alright," he took another gander at the spooky environment. "Because this place really does give me the _creeps_..."

"Maybe that was the ghost of Nebula we saw earlier," Andrew joked, causing Marco to jump.

"Gah, s-stop it, Andrew," he stuttered.

"Easy there Andrew, _that_ Nebula was no ghost," Star concurred. "Well, she didn't _fight _like a ghost at least. But…could that have _really_ been Nebula…?"

"Look Star, we'll figure the mystery out behind that once we are done putting a stop to Ludo and his plan for universal conquest," Andrew insisted. "After all, it must've been the _hardest_ for you to cope with since you were the last one to see her alive before she…you know…?"

"Yes, and that was the reason why I vanished for five months," Star had a hardened look on her face. Fortunately, the optimism came back immediately after she said that. "But you're absolutely right Andrew. We'll worry about that after we thwart Ludo's evil scheme! That's our number one priority!"

"But we really have to get by this castle," Marco questioned. "Because if you should remember, I still have all those _insecurities_ that bug me to no end…"

"I know Marco, but we'll be in this one together," Star assured him. "After all, what's the quest without having some fun while doing it?"

Star ran off through the castle as Marco and Andrew trotted after her.

"Oh Star, you're definitely _one of a kind_," Andrew shook his head as they ventured through the haunted castle…

* * *

Buff Frog was leading his crew through the depths of the scary castle, where they had already found their first key. It was resting atop a stack of crates, but the next one wasn't going to be as easy.

"I bet the second key is tangled in a spider web," Archibald took several guesses as to where it could be located. "Or maybe a ghost might have it, or one of the monsters residing here might have eaten it for breakfast where we have to beat it up to get it out."

"Look, Archibald, it's great to see you coming up with these possibilities, but that second key could be anywhere," Tom was the one who spoke. "This is a huge castle after all."

"I know, and because this is the supernatural, there is a whole list of possibilities," Archibald smiled. "I should know this because I had lived in many creepy castles for years."

"I'm aware of that."

After some walking, the three of them encountered a blue glowing orb which was just begging to be touch. Once the gargoyle touched it, a bright shining light occurred which left them unable to see for a moment or so. Once it was gone, Tom, Archibald, and Buff Frog found themselves being flipped upside down.

"Whoa, vat has happened," Buff Frog was puzzled by this strange occurrence. "Did blue orb make everything flip over and turn castle upside down?"

"It would appear so," Tom shrugged. "But there's nothing wrong with this because I'm used to strange occurrences taking place. From the Blood Moon Ball to Soulrise, I've acquainted with it all."

"Yeah, me too," Archibald grinned. "There's no science or logic involved in this. It's all supernaturalism and nothing else."

"Vee know," Buff Frog grunted as they now explored more of the place while being upside down…

* * *

As they continued on, Janna decided to make some small talk about the surroundings and how she loves this place.

"So guys, what do you think of the place," Janna asked. "Isn't it fascinating or what?"

Upsilon was surely up for a conversation.

"This dimension is illogical, it doesn't compute."

"What do you mean? It's right in front of us," Janna gloated. "This place is the supernatural after all. I mean, we are walking upside down on the ceiling above us."

"We _know_ Janna," Nebula deadpanned.

"Cannot diagnose the reason for such an occurrence…"

"There's nothing to diagnose about this Upsilon, it's just _spooky_," Janna exclaimed before smirking. "And this is _my kind_ of place. I love what we are exploring so much, and I _love_ the supernatural. I've always wanted to explore a dimension like this one since there are a lot of morbid and spooky things. To me, this is like a paradise and a vacation."

"Hmph," Nebula huffed before touching the blue orb ahead of here, causing them to be brought back to the floor. Everything was normal and they were walking naturally again. Nebula then bolted off, leaving Janna confused by why she didn't want to hear about her interests in the supernatural.

"Huh, what's with her?" Janna felt offended.

"It appears that she is undergoing a serious conflict," Upsilon beeped, as they followed after her. "Perhaps she needs some time to think."

"Actually, she's in need of a dire explanation and a need for better clarification," Janna huffed, while still admiring the surroundings that gained her interest…

* * *

"Hey gurls, I really meant it earlier when I said that I _don't_ like this place," Pony Head confessed. "I mean I've explored several scary places such as the Forest of Certain Death and all that, but something about this place just makes me feel _unsettled_…"

"I know how you feel Pony Head, but we'll be okay," Jackie assured her. "I've been to several haunted houses when I was younger and they were nothing to fret about. Even though this place seems _real_, I've been around Star a couple of times where a whole lot of illogical events take place. So there's nothing for us to fret about."

"She's right," Daron agreed. "I was never crazy about the supernatural, but if Star is able to explore a haunted woods and scary castle, then so can we. We can do this for your belongings."

"Yeah, I guess your right Daron," Pony Head sighed. "It was only a matter of time before we encountered a place like this."

"Exactly, even though we're upside down, there's nothing to get excited about," Daron pointed.

As they were approaching a blue orb, Jackie took in her surroundings and it seemed to be the place that one of her friends would have loved to visit.

_This place seems to be something that Janna would love to explore and check out. _She thought. _This is her kind of territory. _

It was then they touched the blue orb in front of them, causing them to go back to normal.

"Whoa girls, we have flipped over again," Daron yelped.

"Gurl, the castle has been flipped back to normal," Pony Head revaluated.

"Right Pony Head," Daron then continued with her partners behind her. They had passed some ghostly trees and orange leaves that were on the ground and also noticed a dense ominous fog surrounding the castle. Jackie was definitely convinced that this was Janna's kind of place.

_Yup, I stand corrected. This place is definitely perfect for Janna…_

* * *

Back with Team Star, Marco wasn't as afraid as he was when they first came to this dimension, but some of the stuff around him caused him to gulp with anxiety. Plus there was some stuff that occurred that made him jump and squeak.

Of course, all of _that_ stuff was because of Andrew.

"Ugh, Andrew, that _wasn't_ funny," Marco cried. "I expected _that_ from Star, but from _you?_"

"My apologies Marco, but that was actually meant for Star," Andrew insisted. "Though you gotta admit, it was _kinda_ funny."

"No, it _wasn't_."

"Right," Andrew shook his head and saw that Star wasn't with them…_again_. "Speaking of whom, where did that crazy Mewni princess run off to now?"

"I'M OVER HERE!" Star chimed above in a sing-along voice, which got their attention. She was shown pumpkin smashing with her wand, hitting several jack-o-lantern clear from the area as if they were golf balls. "I'VE BEEN PUMPKIN SMASHING JACK-O-LANTERNS!"

"Of course," Andrew muttered.

"Oh, by the way, I found a secret switch in this patch of pumpkins," Star jumped down to regroup with Marco and Andrew. "And now the door ahead of us is open."

She pointed and the door right in front of them was _open._

"Let's go guys, and see what other cool stuff lurks in this castle," Star chirped. "This is definitely the place Janna would love to explore!"

"Yeah, Janna would be up with her antics in this dimension," Marco sighed.

"Don't remind me," Andrew groaned.

So Star and Marco rushed through the open door with Andrew trailing behind them. As he was doing so, some thoughts have come to him. While he was starting to get used to Star's antic and has become tolerant of them, he felt that the dimension as Marco puts it, was really unsettling.

_This place does make me feel uneasy. _The treasure hunter shuddered. _It gives off a vibe similar to the Haunted Mountain dimension I went to just to restore my Ruler Gemstone five months ago…_

* * *

As they were still traveling upside down in the castle, the Demonstrix had worked their way and found their second key. They had individually got by stone pillars in their path; Archibald flew, Tom levitated, and Buff Frog leaped over them. Tom had ended up on the underside of a platform where he claimed the second key. Archibald and Buff Frog accompanied him as they then saw an obstacle in their path. The _obstacle _was a bat monster, which wouldn't have been out of the ordinary if it didn't have a searchlight going back and forth.

"Hey comrades, vatch out, that bat monster has searchlight," Buff Frog pointed. "If vee gets caught by that, it'll call in reinforcements to aid it."

"That means more monsters will appear to assist it," Archibald concluded.

"Exactly, and I don't want us to stay around for it to happen," Tom hid in the corner with his partners as he summoned a flame to engulf the bat monster without being spotted. It seemed to have worked since the bat monster screeched from being on fire. It then dropped out of the sky and vanished once it landed.

"Good vork Comrade Tom, now vee shall press on," Buff Frog got up and had his team follow him as they continued through the castle that was flipped upside down. It didn't take long for them to encounter some flames being lit on an invisible path.

"Hey guys, what's up with those flames," the gargoyle was confused. "Is it safe to walk on?"

"I'm pretty sure it is," Tom shrugged before walking on the path with Archibald and Buff Frog. "I'm beginning to wonder if these invisible paths are being created by demons, like those that control ping pong balls."

"They probably are," Buff Frog assumed. "Then again, since I'm no demon, I don't know for sure."

They got to the other platform from walking on the invisible path.

"Alright, I bet this path _was_ created by invisible demons," Archibald studied and mused about the invisible path they walked on.

"Enough with focusing on the invisible path Archibald," Tom directed his attention to another blue orb. "Because I've found another blue orb for us to touch..."

Archibald caught up with Buff Frog and Tom as the latter touched the blue orb, resulting in that bright blue light again as they reverted back onto the ground.

"Well, we're back on solid ground, and the door magically opened in front of us," Tom pointed to the door that opened automatically.

"Yeah, vee have been acquainted with supernatural since we're monsters," Buff Frog hurried. "Regardless, vee better find 8 remaining keys if vee hope on getting by spooky castle along with 3 other teams."

"Way ahead of you guys," Archibald followed while they continued their trek through the castle to find the 8 remaining keys that they need to retrieve…

* * *

Janna and Upsilon managed to catch up with Nebula, who was brawling solo with a couple of craw monsters. Her expression was stoic; punching, kicking and using all of the spells from her wand that she has learned so far while remaining emotionless. As soon as she was finished with the craw monsters, Janna approached her gradually and started the talk.

"Listen to me, Nebula, I can definitely see that something is bothering you," Janna started. "And if you'd just let me explain, then maybe we can-"

"You know more than you're actually leading me in on." Nebula growled while not looking at the Filipino. Janna grew nervous as she was being cornered.

"Nebula, you know I'd never lie to you…"

"Then why haven't you been telling me the truth," Nebula snarled, punching a nearby stone pillar and leaving a mark on it. "That blonde haired girl named Star Butterfly, the one that you claim to have known, and she clearly knows who I am, along with her little friends! She's the girl that I saw in my vision, she's the girl I saw in the Coastal Ruins Dimension, and she knew me!"

"Well, it looks like you should have a bone to pick with Star, not me," Janna grumbled in annoyance. At the same time, she was also feeling ashamed.

"Well tell me everything, Janna!" Nebula badgered with no hint of humor in her voice. "Anything that regards Star, regards me, or even regards you!"

That did it. Janna's patience had finally been broken, and she was feeling the frustration building up starting to surface, ready to be vented out. Upsilon picked up on this as he felt something was about to go down.

"I'm picking up high amounts of tension in the air; unsettling to all of those within range."

Janna then had a scowl that matched her furrowed eyebrows, gritted teeth, and how her hands were curled up into fists. This would have caused Nebula to recoil had it not been for the fact that she was just as furious as she was.

"Alright, fine then Nebula," Janna roared. "If you want to know how you once wished to commit revenge on the universe and vowed to blow it up to smithereens, that you once assisted in blowing off half of the Earth's moon, that you had a change of heart by the end, how you sacrificed your life for Star, me, and the rest of the universe, and that you're supposed to be dead, then FINE! You got what you _wanted!_ ARE YOU **HAPPY** _**NOW!?"**_

Nebula suddenly lost all her trace of anger from that rant, being replaced with shock. Fortunately, Janna wasn't done yet as she continued.

"Don't you think that I might have kept that from you for a reason!? If I had babbled all of that out to you in the first place when I had woken you from that capsule, we wouldn't have gotten this far! And now because of that, I'll have to live with the possibility that those visions you had aren't your memories, because you have nothing to remember, Ludo might have been right when he told you that you don't have a past! You could be just another Nebula Android, and maybe…"

She paused to reach into her pocket to grip the gold bracelets that she had while shutting her eyes tight.

"…the Nebula that I once remembered is now gone forever, and is never coming back…"

Without another word, Janna walked off and continued through the castle alone as Nebula was left there speechless. She was at a loss for what Janna just revealed to her as she didn't know how to feel. Upsilon picked up on this as he approached Nebula and then get her attention.

"…perhaps maybe we can continue forth with original aspirations."

Nebula just nodded as she and Upsilon trailed behind Janna through the scary castle…

* * *

"Hey, girls, a rather peculiar question has occurred to me," Daron asked her teammates. "How did this dimension get a haunted castle located in the middle of the woods?"

"Beats me, I don't have the slightest idea," if Pony Head had shoulder, she would have shrugged them. "But I guess that the woods in this dimension are _endless_."

"Yeah, this dimension does have such a strong ghostly vibe to it," Jackie nodded. "This would definitely be a kind of place Janna would have loved to explore."

"Uh huh, Janna would love this dimension, since she's into the supernatural and the occult and such for that matter." Daron nodded.

"Oh yeah gurl, I could see Janna loving this place," Pony Head hovered up a tower with Daron and Jackie hanging onto her where they landed on a balcony. A few craw monsters were waiting for them at the top, but Jackie put them down with several karate chops. One of them tried to make a getaway, but Pony Head zapped it with her magical horn, where Daron then finished it by bashing its head with her fake wand.

"Woohoo," Daron saw the monsters vanish. "I am absolutely thrilled that we can show these monsters what we can do."

"No kidding," Pony Head smiled.

"We have grown used to this," Jackie gave Daron a high five as a result.

They carried on forward as they descended down the tower by rail where they ended up in a hallway that had several lit torches. Daron escorted her team out of there in time for them to encounter another blue orb. Once they touched it, the castle flipped over once again…

* * *

Tom, Archibald and Buff Frog continued their scavenger hunt for the remaining keys, while walking down aimlessly through a hall. They had passed by some trees that were growing blue colored leaves. Archibald was mesmerized by the color of the leaves on the trees they passed. Buff Frog had recently found the third key behind a crate, and Tom was on the verge of finding the fourth key.

"I think the fourth key is up there," Tom pointed to the top of a tower. "I'm going to get it for us."

Deciding to levitate, Tom ascended up to the top of the tower he pointed to, with hopes that the fourth key was there. Surely enough, the fourth key was on the pedestal in front of him. He grabbed it and then tucked it away before descending back down to his teammates.

"Alright guys, I have the fourth key," he pointed to the pocket it was in.

"Great, now vhere shall vee go next," Buff Frog rubbed his head.

"Hey guys, I found another blue orb," Archibald pointed to it. "I wonder if it'll make the castle flip over again."

"Might as well activate it," the demon shrugged as the gargoyle touched it, causing them to be flipped upside down again. Once they landed on the ceiling, Buff Frog reached up between the quartet of torches and grabbed the fifth key that was there.

"Huh, good things come to those vho vait after all," Buff Frog grinned.

"What's the matter," the client updated them yet again. "You're only _halfway_ there."

"We know _that,_" Tom huffed before cutting the call and the three of them continued so they could find the other 5 keys needed to be found…

* * *

Star was shown trekking through the halls of the spooky castle with ease, something that she started getting carried away with. Marco was starting to become more acquainted with the spooky setup and his anxiety about the place decreased. He even decided to have fun by sneaking up and trying to spook Andrew, but that went over well.

"Nice _try,_ Marco," Andrew snickered, grabbing a hold of the Latino before something could happen. "Better luck next time."

"Darn it," he snapped his fingers.

The two of them then scanned to see if they could find the Mewni princess in sight, hoping that she'd pop up at any minute. To their expectations, Star did show up as they chased after her. Surely, Star then ran into a blue orb and yelp.

"Hey guys, look at this blue orb," Star pointed. "Any idea what it does to be exact?"

"We're about to find out now," Marco felt the light blinding him, and it was doing the same for Andrew.

It was then the castle around them was flipped upside down.

"Whoa, did I do what I think I did?" Star was bright eyed.

"I dunno, what the heck happened?" Andrew's reaction was the opposite of Star's. He was feeling perplexed as he had to grab his hat that fell off his head.

"Guys, the castle turned upside down," Marco pointed. "I have no idea _how_ it happened, but it occurred when we touched that blue orb."

"We already know that this dimension harbors some supernatural elements, so that's the likely reason," Andrew said. "In any case, let's get by here and find another blue orb that can revert this castle back to normal."

"Oh Andrew, always wanting to take the _fun_ away from it," Star shook her head. "No matter, let's go find another blue orb to get this place reverted."

"Might as well," Marco shrugged.

The three of them ran upside down to find a blue orb that'll get them back onto the ground where they were before…

* * *

With five more keys to go, the Demonstrix continued their trek. This was becoming_ tougher_ than they thought though. Buff Frog, in particular, wondered why the keys didn't have key chains or why all 10 of them weren't on a single key chain to make it more convenient.

"I don't get it. Couldn't builder of this castle put all 10 keys on single key chain to make things more convenient," Buff Frog was clearly getting exhausted.

"Yeah, this would make it easier for _us_," Archibald yawned.

Tom, however, was thinking about something else as he encountered a craw monster that he gave a fire punch to in order to claim key number 6.

"You know, there has to be a reason why we're doing this mission," the demon mused.

"Besides fact that if vee don't get keys, no other team vill be able to stop Ludo," Buff Frog took a guess.

"Yes, and the fact that all of these missions are to test our abilities," Tom continued. "We've done a lot of the impossible: rescuing a fairy, collecting casino chips and oysters, getting by a part of the jungle dimension without being spotted by mermaids, collecting pixies to keep Ludo from using their magic for evil, destroying capsules that contain Nebula Androids in them. It seems all those missions have some kind of connection."

Buff Frog got where he was going with this as Tom touched another blue orb. They were now in an area that had oozing liquid coming from the spouts on the walls, which the tilling made it look like a greenish color that was also glowing. Archibald was mesmerized by this site too. The seventh key was lying in the mini pool that was right behind them as Buff Frog went and grabbed it.

"It kinda makes you guys have to wonder," Archibald seemed curious as they went down the path again. "Are the other teams making any progress with their goals?"

"I should hope so…" Buff Frog admitted as Archibald spat some acid on a nearby bat monster. "Because if it comes down to it, we may _need_ all the help vee can get."

"But the alliance we would be getting would include Starship and her partners Marco and Andrew, that 'floozy' rogue with the 'dead' Nebula girl and the killer robot that fought us on the skyscraper in the city dimension, and those two human girls and Pony Head who beat us up for trying to steal Pony Head's horn," Tom pointed out as a smirk slowly crossed his face as he said that. Buff Frog looked towards the ground and sighed.

"I know," said Buff Frog. "But vee vill have to put difference aside if vee have to get to that point."

"Fine by me," Tom didn't object. "Let's go find the remaining keys."

"Alright," said Archibald.

The three of them explored more of the castle to find the last 3 keys needed to get by the gate at the end of the castle…

* * *

"Oh man, this ghost just popped right into my face," Janna was heard laughing at how ghost popped out of nowhere. The ghost was shown with a jack-o-lantern head with a cloak underneath. "Ha ha ha, goodness, that was priceless! This ghost got me good!"

Apparently, in spite of her rant with Nebula, she was not going to let that ruin her _fun_ as she was going to enjoy everything that existed in this dimension. Upsilon was analyzing the ghost while Nebula had a flat look on her face.

"Janna, it really wasn't funny how that ghost just popped out of nowhere like that," she deadpanned.

"Hmph," Janna huffed and gave Nebula the cold shoulder before pressing on, the ghost disappearing afterwards. Nebula just stared and saw her walk off with Upsilon walking right up to her.

"It is perplexing as to how someone like her could find fascination with this area and how she enjoys seeing non-existent supernatural beings," Upsilon said.

"Oh like that shouldn't be a surprise," Nebula grunted. "We've already run into several mermaids and sirens in the previous dimension, along with a giant sea serpent, so what else is new."

"You've proven an excellent point there Nebula," the robot agreed. "Shall we carry forward?"

"Yeah, we might as well."

Both of them continued to follow Janna through this haunted castle. As it stands, Nebula was still lost in a rainbow of conflict, but she gave up trying to piece it together. Whether what Janna said was true or not, whether Star was implying something or not, the only one who knew what Nebula had been doing before she was sealed in that capsule was Ludo himself. He was the one who encased her in there, and nothing could change that fact. Whether she was the 'Nebula' that Janna spoke so highly of, or was just a mere creation, it was Ludo who held the truth.

Unless something Earth-shattering came to her, her objective was still her number one priority. She had explained this to Upsilon, who concurred on the spot and got back on track, but this was mainly because he still wanted revenge against the Avarian, and to exterminate his monsters.

Janna, on the other hand, wasn't as easy to get back on track. Sure, she continued to stick with them and allowed Nebula to carry her onto higher ground, but it wasn't as simple. In addition to admiring the spooky atmosphere around her, she was still feeling uncomfortable with having to tell Nebula everything she needed to know.

"I almost feel _bad_ for yelling at her," Nebula muttered as she walked through the castle that was flipped upside down. "But I had to know exactly what that girl Star was talking about…granted, I know now…"

"Must exterminate," Upsilon battle cried as a swarm of craw monsters made their way after them. They were holding shields and daggers so these would be more challenging. Nebula smirked, however.

"Guess this one is up to _me_," Nebula flew up and aimed her wand at them and fired a Shattering Dark Crystal Launch, as well as some Dark Purple Lightning Spears to knock away the shields. Once she did, she fired several Dark Purple Fist Punches at most of them. When she came to a stop, Janna jumped in and held her own by dishing out some kicks towards some of them, before bashing their heads in with her hairdryer, knocking most of them out.

Upsilon handled the rest with his artillery and ammunition.

"Good work," Nebula actually acclaimed Janna. But all she gets out of it was another huff as she turns her back on her and walks away once again. Nebula wasn't really thrilled about this, but something told her that she may have deserved it. "…well, I give her a compliment for once, and suddenly, she huffs and walks away…although I might have _deserved _it for how I was pestering her to give me everything I needed to know all at once."

Upsilon didn't respond. He just trotted after Janna, beeping something along the lines of wanting to 'cleanse this castle of all the Ludo scum investing it'. Nebula sighed as she followed after her companions where they continued through the castle…

* * *

Team Sparkle was still trekking through the upside-down castle, going from tower to tower until they reached a gap that they had to get across by using a platform. As they were doing that, Jackie had remembered something that had left her in some doubt from two years ago.

True, she was one of the most popular girls not just in school, but also in Echo Creek, but to be honest, she never wanted to be popular. People only saw her as popular because she had quite a beautiful figure at such a young age, which has something to do with her mermaid heritage. She didn't like being seen as an object but as a person, which is why she never told anyone outside her family about her mermaid heritage because the last thing she wanted was to attract more attention just because she has some mermaid blood and it'll increase her popularity, something she _didn't_ want. Sure, she told Daron and Pony Head, but that's because Pony Head lives in another dimension, and Daron doesn't seem to be a popular person either.

Then there was Marco, who she was hoping on sharing this with since she trusts him. She had always like the Latino right from the start since he was one of the nicest guys she has ever met. But what caused her to gain a crush on him was during Star's sleepover when he revealed his crush on her and admitted that she should be with someone who can appreciate her for who she is and not as some object. And she enjoyed the dates she went on with him since they were all memorable. But after that party when Star had confessed to Marco about her crush on him, Jackie started gaining some doubts about Marco wanting her anymore; from Marco being distant with her to suddenly heading to Mewni for several weeks without trying to get a hold of her, it made her feel _hurt_, even if she didn't want it to show on the outside. Of course, he came back to her sometime later when it was revealed the crush was just a phase, but what would have happened if it wasn't a phase, and that Marco would rather be with Star then be with her?

Just recalling that part of her life made her feel _hurt_ all over again. It was shown by her facial expression.

Daron and Pony Head took notice of this and felt that something was wrong with Jackie.

"Hey Jackie, are you alright," Daron got her attention.

"Yeah gurl, it looks like something _eating_ you," Pony Head looked oddly concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing really," despite this, Jackie decided to share it anyway. "It's just that, I've been thinking back to 2 years ago when I was feeling some doubt about my relationship with Marco."

"What do you _mean_ Jackie?" Both Daron and Pony Head asked.

"Well, after that party where Star confessed to Marco about having a crush on him, I had started to feel doubtful, especially with how Marco ran up the stairs for her when she had to leave Earth," she explained. "Afterwards, Marco was distant with me, and_ then_ he left Earth for Mewni for several weeks without bothering to _text_ me. It was then that I started to wonder if maybe 'Marco would rather be with Star then to be with me', and it made me _hurt_. I really **_like_** Marco, and I like him for wanting to appreciate me for who I really am and not as some popular girl. Sure he came back to me after telling me Star's crush on Marco was just a passing phase, but what would have happened if it wasn't a phase and if Marco really did want to leave to be with Star? That memory still hurts to this day."

Daron and Pony Head were surprised by what Jackie explained and how she was saddened by how it seemed that she lost the one guy who appreciated her for who she is. Of course, they knew that he wouldn't leave her so they reassured her.

"Now Jackie, don't think like that," Daron informed. "Marco has always been infatuated by you and had wanted to like you for who you are, not for the popularity. It is like he said at that sleepover, he wanted you to have someone who could appreciate you for who you are and he wanted to be that _somebody._ Sure, Star is my idol and I admire her, but for you, Marco is _your_ guy and the both of you couldn't have it any other way."

"Yeah gurl, B-Fly and Earth Dude might be close, but from what I know, they're only _friends_ again," Pony Head stated. "Besides, once Marco finds out that your part mermaid, he'll gladly respect your wishes and keep a lid on it from others since he cares about you."

"Well since you dudettes put it that way, I think your right," Jackie smiled. "I just gotta speak to Marco the next time I can."

"And you'll likely have a chance," Daron smirked as they were standing on the platform getting them over the gap. "Because they're heading through this same castle that we are, and Marco will let you know how he feels for sure."

"Uh huh, thank you Daron and Pony Head for this," Jackie thanked them. "I'm glad that I've gotten to travel with you two on this quest."

"Same here," Daron winked. "We've been to a lot of fun places."

"Hey gurls don't look now, but we have some monsters to take care of," Pony Head was getting ready to battle.

"You ready to fight those monsters, Jackie," Daron got out her fake wand.

"Ready as_ I'll_ ever be," Jackie smirked.

The three of them jumped down and were about to engage in a fight against the monsters…

* * *

"Oh my goodness, we're turning _upside down _again!" Star cried out after Andrew touched a blue orb. Both of them were flying in the air.

Marco, on the other hand, fell down and landed face first onto the ground.

"Ugh, we're back to normal now," he muffled before getting up. "And can you guys please stop making me wish I could _fly_!"

Star and Andrew traded sheepish smiles before flying back down towards him. Once they regrouped, they decided to continue on through the castle together.

The three of them made their way to the inner workings of the castle. It was also concise that they had passed by the same room three times in a row. Marco had deduced that if they were going in the same direction consecutively that the exit would be on the other side. Star took this into consideration as she barreled and flew through every room in the castle. Andrew saw so many walls and doors fly by that he was sure that they'd entered every last one in the vicinity, besides the ones they needed of course.

"Do you even have an idea where you're going Star," Andrew questioned as he was growing impatient.

"Hey it's not my fault this castle can get confusing," Star cried. "This place is nothing like the Butterfly Castle."

"Great job figuring that one out," Andrew retorted sarcastically. "You've been bringing us to the same rooms we've already been to."

"Come on, just trust my natural instincts, I mean what could go wrong," Star told him.

"We could get into more trouble. We could end up getting close to being eaten by another massive monster. We could end up being ambushed by an unknown source we've never encountered before," Marco placed three possibilities on the table.

Once they were at the top of the next tower, Andrew stopped Star. This got her to halt.

"Alright, that's it. We're doing this _my _way."

"What the…?"

Andrew jumped up and drilled back down into a group of crates that were embedded into the floor. They blocked a hole, in which Andrew dragged Star and Marco down. Once they were at the bottom, Andrew was grinning dangerously.

"And that's what happens when we follow _my _instincts," said the treasure hunter. "Don't you guys trust me?"

"Ugh, not after that stunt," Star grumbled.

Star was about to take off again but stopped when she saw Andrew scuffling with some shield wielding craw monsters. Andrew's punch dented the shield for sure, but he was having trouble getting to the monster itself.

"I could use some assistance!" Andrew yelled.

"Leave it to me," Star got out her wand and was about to use it again. "Shields up guy: Hurricane Force Wind!"

The hurricane force wind was unleashed from her wand and caused the shields that they were holding to be sent flying. With their shields gone, Andrew was free to bash monster heads and clash his fists into the craw monsters. Two of the craw monsters were planning a getaway, but Marco thwarted that by landing a karate chop on both of them, knocking them out. Once the craw monsters were taken care of, they noticed that the way forward was opened.

"Hey, maybe Andrew was onto something after all," the Latino pointed out.

"Well, I do have good tracking skills, being a treasure hunter and all," the treasure hunter admitted. "I'm just glad that I'm able to use them in this dimension-"

"Jeez Andrew and you say _I'm_ the one who has an _ego_," Star scoffs before running down the available path. This caused Andrew to fume as he chased after her along with Marco…

* * *

After following another invisible path (possibly created by demons), the Demonstrix found the eight key that they had to acquire. This left them with only two more keys left before they can unlock the gate leading out of the castle.

As they were continuing onward, Archibald took notice of how Tom felt at ease in this dimension. It seemed that their demon Mewman hybrid companion was feeling in place in this area. Wanting to express himself, Archibald decided to speak about this.

"You know, I'm beginning to notice how Tom is feeling at ease in this dimension," the gargoyle said aloud, something that Tom overheard, but responded nonetheless.

"Well when you think about it, I have grown up in the underworld which is a thousand times creepier than this place, what with bursting flames, other demons as servants, chariots that are carried to the surface by a flying giant demon, and are also pulled on the ground by dead unicorn skeletons with flames for manes," the demon prince admitted. "There are also locations in the underworld such as the Prickly Plains, the Mountain of Boom, the Dock of Unending Torture, and the Lake of Fire. Along with that, there's the Lava Lake Beach, and when you see all those places in the underworld, this place, while it doesn't compare to those places, has a _similar_ creepy atmosphere to it. So that's why I'm quite acquainted with this dimension."

"I get it," Buff Frog was catching on to this. "The atmosphere in this dimension to you is similar to how previous dimension felt to me."

"Exactly," Tom nodded as they approached two switches that they pulled to open the next door, allowing them to head to presumably the final leg of the castle.

There were more ghoulish trees lurking around on all corners, monsters swarming the area, and a cracked wall at the far side of the room. The monsters weren't a match for them, however, and Buff Frog ended up breaking down the cracked wall that was in that room. After it turned into rubble within minutes, they found the ninth key and claimed it.

"There's the ninth key," Archibald was overjoyed.

"Now vee have one more key to find, and then vee get out of castle and head to gate and unlock it."

"That's easier said than done Buff Frog," Tom commented.

They rushed through another tall stone tower where a blue orb was hidden in the section of the ground.

"There's _another_ blue orb," the gargoyle cried out.

"Let see if this is the last one," Tom allowed Archibald to touch it, as they were flipped upside down, now looking at the towers as if it were above them.

"Whoa…" Buff Frog glanced down toward the edge and grimaced. "Pretty strange looking down at huge moon like this…"

He shook it off as he led his team up the tower. The way up coiled around the walls, with bat monsters, sprinkled here and there. Tom and Archibald tag teamed in taking them down with fireballs and spits of acid respectively, while Buff Frog was more focused on getting to the top. Waiting for them at the top however was a blue orb which the three of them touched, and brought them back to the original orientation.

"Did the castle flip over once again," the demon queried.

"Yes, it just reversed the reverse," the gargoyle chirped as the demon was skeptical about how he was being eccentric.

"Yeah, I guess that's a _good_ way to put it."

As they were aligned back onto solid ground, Buff Frog claimed the final key and tossed it into his webbed hand.

"Alright comrades, vee did it," Buff Frog praised them. "Vay to go."

"Now let's work our way out of this castle and head to the gate in the back of the castle."

"Good thinking Tom, let's go."

"Let's get going Archibald and Tom."

Once Buff Frog said that they put the ten keys together and headed to the gate leading out of the scary castle…

* * *

Team Dread was moving forward throughout the castle, and Janna was having fun with admiring the place, pumpkin smashing, and throwing pumpkins at monsters that got in their path while calling them 'fatheads', which got them to lower their guard for Nebula and Upsilon to take them down. It was still tense between Janna and Nebula, but otherwise, nothing has changed until they came across the most bizarre setup.

"Hey, look at _this_ ugly statue," Janna pointed to a statue that looked like Ludo, and it was pretty ridiculous to look at. She blew a raspberry at it to _tease_ the statue. "Ludo looks _dumb_ as a statue."

As she chuckled, Nebula had to observe the statue and saw it as being ridiculous even for Ludo to build. Upsilon meanwhile detected something else that was nearby.

"Nebula, there's a target switch, can you tend to it," the robot ordered, taking care of the monsters around him as Nebula sighed and flew up to it.

"Taken care of," she handled it with one Dark Purple Lightning Spear, which caused a case to be unlocked and for them to touch another blue orb.

As expected, the castle flipped upside down again as did the Ludo statue.

Though what was featured this time was far more_** sinister**_ and Nebula was the only one who took notice of it. It was dark in color, had eyes that glow yellow due to the flames and has a figure similar to Star. Aside from that, Nebula couldn't make out what it was.

"Peculiar," Nebula muttered as she was pulled away by Upsilon. Janna found the exit and while Nebula and Upsilon were glad to have found a way out of the castle, Janna was not ready to get out of the horror house, stating that she was just getting started with having fun.

Despite this, she trailed along with her teammates when they reached the end of a hall. They found the door that leads to the exit; a door that was already opened as they walked on by…

* * *

Team Sparkle had done well with handling the monsters. Daron, in particular, was smashing her fake wand into several craw monsters' torso, and this enraged some new type of monster that resembled a wizard. This wizard monster was planning on restoring their health, but Pony Head blasted the wizard monster down before it could get the chance.

As Daron and Pony Head kept fighting the monsters off, Jackie stood to the side and saw something weird. They were still upside down, that was a given, but what caught her attention was a bizarre looking skeleton in a fountain that water came out from the eyes. There were several skeleton fountains around, but the one with the skeleton inside the fountain caught her attention. Daron and Pony Head saw the fountains too and were confused.

"What's up with those fountains," Daron knocked out the last craw monster with Pony Head.

"I dunno, but they are strange," Pony Head admitted.

_Huh, I wonder if Janna found herself another skeleton BFF. _Jackie mused with a smirk plagued onto her face.

Jackie then saw the exit out of the castle, but they had to activate a blue orb before getting there.

"Hey dudettes, I found the exit out of this castle," Jackie proclaimed. "We just gotta activate the blue orb in order to get to it."

"Alright, lead the way, Jackie," Daron smiled.

Jackie led them to the blue orb as Daron and Pony Head followed her. Once she touched the orb, they then flipped back to solid ground.

"Awesome Jackie, you sure are on the ball tonight," Daron then lead them to the exit out of the castle. "Now, who's ready to leave this castle?"

"Anytime you are Daron," Pony Head and Jackie spoke in unison.

The three of them headed to the exit where they could leave the castle and head to their next stop…

* * *

"Guys, we're upside down again!" Marco cried out as they touched another blue orb.

"Hopefully this will be the last time," Star uttered.

"It's a shame that you can fly Star," Andrew shook his head. "Because if you couldn't fly, then seeing you fall flat on your face would be priceless."

"Quiet you."

Star then went and grabbed Marco as she flew right over a gap between two towers with Andrew gliding after them. They landed on the opposite tower, as Star was getting ready to get on the move again. Once they were on the ground, Star then ran off and Marco and Andrew followed behind her.

"It's surprising how impatient you can be at times, Star."

Star didn't respond as she kept running. Instantaneously, she touched another blue orb and caused the castle to flip over once again. Team Star then tumbled back to the way they were supposed to be. They made a safe landing as Star continued the trek and led the way, having this good feeling that she knows where they have to go, regardless of Andrew's beliefs. She did this pretty much all the time; act without planning and let the outcome do the talking. Marco seemed to understand this as he went with it as well. Andrew didn't however, and Star couldn't figure out why. All that she knew was that Andrew was against whatever Star was for, and vice versa.

"Alright, Marco and Andrew, we have found the exit," Star announced to her comrades.

Star then decided to kick the door open and allowed Marco and Andrew to pass on through the pathway. Marco practically broke into applause while Andrew had to admit, it was sort of impressive. Giving them both a thumb up, she grabbed both of them and brought them through the door leading out of the castle…

* * *

The Demonstrix had approached the gate that was leading outside of the castle, which had ten locks on it, for the ten keys that they found. This was mainly done to keep the spirits in the castle from getting loose and spreading fear among others in the universe. Each of them placed three keys into each of the locks, with Buff Frog inserting the final key into the hole. This unlocked the gate and brought them to the outside beyond the castle. They were in for a rude awakening at what was ahead of them.

Yes, it was the outside of the castle…

…but it also led to something far worse than the castle; a mansion of vast proportions. Their client then barked orders for the Demonstrix to head to that mansion right away, which they did…

* * *

Team Dread made it to the same gate that the Demonstrix had unlocked as they made their way out of the castle, as they were searching for their next destination. While Upsilon was doing the scanning, Nebula decided to end this silent treatment business with Janna by tapping her on the shoulder. Feeling weary, Janna slowly turned around and faced Nebula.

"Yes," she asked cautiously. Nebula took a deep breath and got straight to the point.

"Look, I'm actually glad that you told me all that stuff."

Janna blinked as she entirely faced her companion as if she had been released from a trance.

"Really, wow…" the Filipino's gaze slowly drifted downwards. "But I bet you're still curious about it all."

"Of course," Nebula said obviously. "I need to find out for myself, so I can say that I can remember…but I'm not going to get anywhere if I'm swimming around in my own little theories. Right now, Ludo's my priority. He will tell me what I need to know or he'll face the consequences…"

Nebula clenched her fists and raised one of them in front of her face as she continued.

"I have a feeling that one day, an opportunity to find out what I really am will arrive…and I will rise to that challenge, when it comes, and when I'm ready. But I've got other things to worry about now; gotta take one thing at a time, I suppose."

Janna was silent for a while before finally nodding. "Yeah, you're right Nebula. Sorry that I unloaded all that on you. I'm just surprised that you're taking it quite well."

"I've decided that I can't trust anything I'm told, though," Nebula admitted, folding her arms. "Not until something I can truly grasp onto comes my way. Whether I have to be patient or take action that is what I'm going to do."

"Whatever you feel is right," Janna sighed and shrugged. "Maybe getting my hands on Ludo's secret artifact will be enough to get my mind off of this whole mess I've wrapped myself into…" She then held her hand out and offered it to Nebula. "Just know that none of this is your fault, alright?"

Nebula nodded and shook her hand. "Understood, and by the way, I'm sorry for pestering you for that information."

"And I'm sorry for giving you the cold shoulder," Janna apologized too. "I guess we both made our mistakes and apologized for them."

"It would appear so," they stopped shaking hands as Nebula then asked. "Now what should we do?"

"Let's consult with the suspicious monstrous group," Upsilon pointed to the Demonstrix at the front of the mansion as they were in a heated discussion with their client. Janna's eyes sparkled as she noticed that the demon was still with them. Maybe this would be a good time to patch things up with the demon for the mess she caused back in the city dimension.

"Alright, let's confront them," Janna got Nebula to follow after her while Upsilon then stomped behind them in an attempt to see what was the commotion about…

* * *

Not long after, Team Sparkle made it pass the same gate that Team Dread and the Demonstrix got through. The three of them were looking around parts of the woods, wondering what their next course of action should be.

"Hey girls, anyone know where we should go next," Daron asked.

"I might have an idea," Jackie noticed the Demonstrix and Team Dread near the mansion ahead of them. "But I see a whole bunch of people lined up near the mansion."

Daron saw where Jackie was pointing and indeed, she saw the Demonstrix talking with their client while Team Dread was closing in on them. Pony Head got a look of them too. It didn't take long for Pony Head to recognize who the Demonstrix members were.

"HEY," Pony Head yelled and directed them to the Demonstrix. "It's those three jerks who tried to _steal_ my horn from me!"

"Looks like Janna and a hulking robot are there as well," Daron took notice of Janna and Upsilon before her eyes fell right onto Nebula, which got her to gasp. "WHOA! MY GOODNESS! Is…is that…N-Nebula too…?"

_What's she doing back!? The last time I saw her was 5 months ago when she **died** by sacrificing herself for the universe! How did she **survive**!?_ Daron yelled mentally.

"Daron, who is _Nebula_," Jackie asked, as she didn't know who Nebula is.

"Yah gurl, I'd like to know who Nebula is as well." Pony Head looked equally curious.

"It's a long story," Daron shook her head. "And I'll explain it to you two later. Right now, we have to head there and get to the bottom of this."

"Good idea Daron gurl," Pony Head gushed as the three of them headed to the mansion as well. "Maybe B-Fly and that treasure hunter Andrew will show up too."

"…and Marco," Jackie sighed, hoping Marco would show up as well…

* * *

Speaking of whom, Marco with Star and Andrew went through the same gate that the other teams went through as they noticed the three other teams near the mansion in front of them. The Demonstrix crew were still talking with their client while Team Dread and Team Sparkle were approaching behind without letting themselves be noticed. Marco actually noticed what was going on.

"Hey guys, what's going on over there," Marco asked. "What do you think the other teams are up to?"

Star smirked and felt that checking this out will be very fun.

"Beats me, but why should we miss out on all the fun?" Star was determined.

"Wouldn't be easier to get by them," asked Andrew. "That way there won't be anymore distractions from Ludo's air fleet?"

"Come on Andrew, those are our friends we are looking at," Star protested. "We know they're after Ludo too, and we may be able to help them get to Ludo to do whatever they have to!"

"I guess that's the _only_ option," Andrew sighed, seeing Star wasn't going to leave them behind.

"Plus, I can be able to speak to Jackie again," Marco smiled warmly at being able to interact with Jackie again.

Star then motioned her team to head for the other teams and see what was going on.

"Let's go, Marco and Andrew," she ran with them behind her. "We may not have gotten an invitation, but we're _crashing_ this party!"

"It's a good thing it's not on a bus this time," Marco recalled Brittany's bus party, one that Jackie was invited to. "I got carsick or bus-sick that one time."

Andrew shrugged as they rushed over to join the other three teams…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 16!**

**AS YOU CAN SEE READERS, THE NEXT CHAPTER IS WHERE THE EXCITEMENT REALLY CRANKS UP AND GETS INTERESTING! **

**I SAID THIS BEFORE, BUT I LOVE HAVING THE OTHER TEAMS INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER AND IT'LL REALLY FUN TO WRITE! THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL ALSO GIVE SOME BACKGROUND ON JANNA AND GIVE TOM AN IMPORTANT ROLE TOO!**

**ALSO, I HAVE GIVEN MORE OF AN IN-DEPTH BACKGROUND FOR JACKIE IN ADDITION TO HER MERMAID HERITAGE! I HOPE THAT'LL CLEAR THINGS UP FOR YOU THAT ARE CONFUSED!**

**WELL ASIDE FROM ALL THIS, YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE. OTHERWISE, WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER TO COME UP!**


	18. Spooky Dimension II

**CHAPTER 17-SPOOKY DIMENSION II:**

* * *

"So, would you mind telling me why there appears to be a castle and a mansion in the middle of this endless spooky woods of a dimension?" Tom asked the client, trying to keep his cool as the Demonstrix had entered the mansion first. Simply put, it was just as creepy as the castle they just exited from.

"How should I know? I'm no supernatural expert," the client retorted back. "All that I know is that the mansion is located within the castle, and the castle has a wall that has a very large perimeter."

"That makes no sense at all, but vatever," Buff Frog muttered. "Anyway, vat test of skill are we to do this time?"

"Listen carefully," the client began. "You won't be able to escape from that mansion as long as the 60 torches are left unlit. Your next mission is to light 60 torches so you can be able to escape from that mansion!"

"Actually we can escape no problem," Archibald gave an alternative solution. "All we have to do is go back through the front door and walk around the mansion, right?"

Before a response could come out, a voice was heard from behind.

"What did that talkie just say," that voice belonged to Andrew, as he and Marco entered the mansion along with the members of Team Dread and Team Sparkle. Star had decided to make a surprise entry so she delayed herself. Once they entered, they dared not to make a move as the Demonstrix members jumped. Buff Frog yelped and fumbled with the talkie before Tom pocketed it away. Tom had no idea how to respond to the other heroes who had just entered, so Buff Frog did the honor.

"Vhoa, how did ya follow us here," the frog monster winced.

"Beats me," Pony Head sassed. "This was the only way out of that castle behind us."

"Yeah and we had nowhere else to go so that's why we're here," Nebula agreed.

"Basically, as I had assumed, we are all heading to the same destination," Marco gulped and nervously twiddled his fingers, overhearing what the talkie said about not escaping the mansion.

"That we_ are_ Marco," Janna smirked. Not only was the mansion as spooky as the castle, which was just what she wanted to explore, but she also felt this was a perfect opportunity. Approaching Andrew, she tucked her hand into Andrew's shirt and started to be _fresh_ with him. Andrew caught onto this and swatted her hand away from him.

"Knock it off," Andrew barked in annoyance. "We got a _problem_ here!"

"Andrew's right," Jackie found herself huddling right next to Marco, holding his arm. "Please tell me I'm wrong...but did that _client_ of yours on the talkie just say that we won't be able to escape this mansion unless 60 torches have been lit?"

"Does that mean we're _trapped_ in here!?" Daron found herself panicking.

"Nonsense," Archibald tried to assure them. "As I just said, we can just go back out the front door and-"

He was unable to finish since Star stormed her way through the entrance, wanting to make her surprise entry now. She then hollered to them.

"Hey guys, what did I miss!?"

Immediately after she shouted that did she _**slam **_the door shut behind her, with a **bang**. This resulted in the eleven other heroes to let out a collective gasp of shock as Andrew dashed over to pry open the door. When it failed to budge, Janna was smiling sheepishly, Marco, Jackie, Daron, and Archibald had entered a state of panic, with Marco and Jackie holding each other, Nebula and Tom glared at Star, and Andrew, Upsilon, Pony Head and Buff Frog pooled in all their strength to bust open the door.

No luck.

"Sensors are not required to indicate that…this door is indeed_ locked_," whipping around, Upsilon instantly drew out his guns and aimed them at Star. **"PREPARING TO TERMINATE AND DESTROY THE BLONDE-HAIRED GIRL AT FAULT!"**

Star suddenly jumped and rose her hands as Upsilon was about to blast her down to bits.

"Whoa! Hold it, how was I suppose to know that the door would lock behind me?! GET A GRIP!" Star cried out in defense.

"Once again, this is _all_ Star's fault," Andrew grumbled, walking back over. "This is just like how you nearly got us _killed_ in the power plant back in the city dimension when you caused that liquid energy to rise!"

"THAT WAS **_YOU!?_"** Nebula and Janna found themselves shouting and turning to Star. Janna just glared at her, while Nebula was cracking her knuckles and preparing to beat Star up. It was evident that it was about to get _ugly_.

Before things got ugly though, Tom stepped in and put a stop to it.

"Now hold up everyone," Tom declared. "We, the Demonstrix, will handle this in a _civilized_ manner. If you all have the desire of getting out of here just like we do, you can feel free to_ stick_ with us as we light all 60 torches…"

In an instance, Nebula bolted off, saying that she doesn't have time for this and that she needs to find Ludo right away. She instructed Janna and Upsilon to follow her through the mansion, which they did as they left. Star overheard what Nebula said and recruited Marco and Andrew to join her so they can get to Ludo first before Nebula does, as Team Star takes their leave too. Pony Head then sees a glow in the distance, thinking that it might be her medallion as she floated into the depths of the mansion to investigate. Daron and Jackie called out to her to not explore the mansion alone, resulting in them going after Pony Head and trekking through the mansion. This left the Demonstrix all alone in the dust.

"Darn," Tom snapped his fingers and huffed in disappointment. "I thought I was being assertive _without_ overdoing it."

With that, Buff Frog sighs as he knew what this meant.

"Vell, let's get to vork comrades," Buff Frog declared.

"Yeah, let's get going with lighting those torches," Archibald groaned.

With that said, Tom, Archibald, and Buff Frog went through the mansion that the other three teams went through as they about to work on lighting the 60 torches in the mansion in order to escape the mansion…

* * *

Nebula had stormed through the mansion and was destined to get to Ludo before Star. Janna and Upsilon were still observing their surroundings and checking out the place. Janna noticed how creepy the place looked with the creaking walls and stuff.

"It's definitely spooky in here," Janna exclaimed, right before a devious smirk crossed her face. "Just the way I _love_ it."

"Initiate interior search," Upsilon began with his eyes flashing all about.

"We don't have time for _that_ you two," Nebula barked as she kicked the door open to the next room. "We need to focus on getting out of here!"

"But if what those Demonstrix guys said is true, we can't leave until the 60 torches are lit giving us an excuse to explore this place," Janna huffed as she followed with Upsilon behind.

"Scanners do indicate that a mysterious supernatural force is identified as interference within the structure," the robot pointed out.

"Exactly," Janna smirked. "So why don't we have a little fun and check out how scary this place is?"

Nebula didn't say anything as she created a hole into the floor with her Dark Purple Fist Punch. She jumped down and got Janna and Upsilon to follow her. They descended to a lower level of the mansion.

"Four walls can't _box_ me in," Nebula declared.

"In that case, maybe you should try playing 'Truth-or-Punishment' with the Box of Truth that boxes you in to play," Janna remarked.

"What the heck is 'Truth-or-Punishment' anyway?" Nebula let her curiosity get the better of her.

"Oh, it's kinda like Truth or Dare, but with this game, you have to answer a question that the Box of Truth asks you, and you have to reveal secrets and you have to be honest with it," Janna explained. "And if you or someone else tells a lie, the box will end up torturing you until someone fesses up and tells the truth."

"And how do you know this?"

"I actually played it at Star's sleepover this one time," Janna revealed. "It was a sleepover and the game consisted of me, Star, Marco, Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie. It was definitely a crazy night, but I _loved_ it."

Nebula gave her a blank stare before rolling her eyes.

"The strangest games that humans come up with," she walked onward.

"I don't think humans created 'Truth or Punishment', but the Mewman probably did," Janna confessed.

"I'm not sure what Mewman are, but it's still a strange game."

"It is a strange concept for one to take part in," Upsilon admitted.

"Suit yourself," with a shrug; Janna followed her partners through the mansion while they explored it a little…

* * *

"Okay gurls, I'm starting to get a little _unsettled_ with the mansion that we're in," Pony Head winced at her surroundings.

"Hey, it'll be cool Pony Head," Jackie maintained calm. "It's like I said, I've been to haunted houses several times in the past, so this shouldn't be any different."

"I guess your right," the floating unicorn head sighed. "After all, this place isn't any different from the castle we just got through."

"Exactly," Jackie nodded.

Daron meanwhile was thinking about the mess they were in and was starting to have second thoughts.

"Girls, maybe we should have stuck with the Demonstrix while they light the torches in this mansion," Daron confessed. "That way, we wouldn't be entirely alone."

"But what if they try to steal my horn again," Pony Head asked.

"Nonsense Pony Head, I doubt that they'd do that again after the beating we laid on them," Daron assured.

"Not to mention they are also working for that client that is speaking to them on that talkie," Jackie brought up.

As Pony Head nodded, they entered a room with a red-carpeted floor. There was nothing but a mysterious door in the center. A few craw monsters were lurking about, but Jackie and Pony Head easily disposed of them with her karate chops and unicorn magic beams respectively.

"Girls, how are we going to get by this door," Daron knocked on the door. "There's no way for us to get by it."

"Whoa," Jackie was surprised. "And I thought that the Box of Truth that boxed us in at Star's sleepover was weird."

"Gurls, I think I found the solution," Pony Head had floated over to a blue orb switch and touched it. The room changed instantaneously as Daron yelped. After a moment, the room changed and the door in front of them opened up.

"Woohoo, way to go Pony Head," Daron praised as the three girls walked through the door.

"Yeah, I do what I can," Pony Head smiled as they walked into the next room.

"I must admit dudettes," Jackie looked around. "This place is also somewhere that Janna would love to explore."

"Yeah, she was out front with the rest of us when we entered the mansion wasn't she," Pony Head asked. "I bet she's having fun exploring this mansion right now as we speak."

"Definitely, and she's with a killer robot, and Nebula too," Daron smiled.

"I still don't know _who_ Nebula is," Jackie confessed.

"Me either, would you mind telling us who _Nebula_ is?" Pony Head asked.

As they continued to trek through the halls, Daron sighed as she started to explain what happened 5 months ago.

"Alright girls, I'll tell you about what happened five months ago," Daron started. "Now it started like this…"

* * *

Naturally, Star took the pleasure of exploring the haunted mansion with Marco and Andrew behind her. While she wasn't as hyped about it as Janna is, she was still ecstatic about exploring it.

"Wow guys, it definitely feels like Halloween with all these ghosts," Star stated as she saw some ghosts pass through the walls. "I just hope that we don't run into Hungry Larry here…"

"Come on Star, I doubt that we'll run into Hungry Larry again," Marco assured. "After what my dad did, I don't think he'll mess with us anytime soon."

"Yeah, you have a good point," Star nodded, remembering that Halloween night.

Andrew though was startled when Star said ghosts and he saw actual entities pass through the walls.

"D-Did you just say…g-ghosts…?" He stuttered.

"Sure I did," Star chirped.

Star raced up the stairs with Marco and Andrew trailing behind her. She barreled through a door and made it into another hallway. The same type of ghost that Janna encountered outside the castle popped in front of them and screech; even Star jumped at that, but it was nothing compared to the sound Andrew muffled through his hand.

"Jeez, and I thought playing Truth-or-Punishment with you was scary Star," Marco shuddered.

"Truth-or-Punishment?" Andrew tilted his head.

"Long story short, it was a game that we played at a sleepover I held at Marco's house," Star quickly explained.

"Oh, I see," Andrew shook his head and adjusted his hat.

"Anyway, we better head up Star," Marco pointed. "Maybe there will be fewer things up there that'll spook us."

"I don't have a problem with it," Star grabbed Marco and Andrew and flew upward to the upper hallway. "Just as long as we get to Ludo before Nebula does."

"But we can't get to him until the Demonstrix light all 60 torches in the mansion," Andrew reminded. "Or were you quick minded to forget that?"

"I haven't forgotten, but if Nebula wants a challenge, then she's going to get it," determination crossed her eyes.

"I honestly think you're getting a little carried away with_ this_ Star," Marco muttered under his breath as they continued. "I sure hope the other teams are doing alright, and I wonder how Jackie is doing…"

* * *

Of course, the Demonstrix members were left with doing the hard work of lighting the 60 torches, but they weren't complaining. In fact, it was probably for the best since the other heroes probably can't create fire the way Tom can. Having found four unlit torches, Tom got right to work as he created flames with his hands touched the torches with his flaming hands and they were lit. As he was doing that, Buff Frog and Archibald had a feeling that the other teams will be in for a surprise when they find out that they were right.

"That's four torches lit already," Tom had lit the four torches.

"That makes 56 more torches to go," Buff Frog sighed, punching open a door that led to the next room.

"But it's no problem," Archibald tried to be optimistic. "We'll be getting the last laugh when the other teams find out that they really can't escape without us doing our job."

"I suppose so," Buff Frog looked thoughtful. "After all, it's not like any other team could light torches the vay Tom does it."

The three of them marched upstairs to another room crawling with craw monsters. They were blocking their exit and once they caught sight of them, they charged to attack them. Buff Frog went and bodyslammed them before bashing their heads in. Archibald then followed by spitting acid on each of them, causing them to smoke and screech in pain. This led to their defeat.

"Alright, that's taken care of," Buff Frog dusted his hands.

They entered the next hall, where another four torches were waiting for them. Tom went straight to work and created flames which lit the torches when he touched them. This brings the total of torches lit to eight.

"Alright, that makes 8 torches lit already, leaving us with 52 more to light," Archibald whooped as they carried forth.

"Mhmm," the demon then felt a presence and saw several ghosts appear in front of them, along with two more torches to light. "I'm sensing the presence of ghosts."

"Me too," Archibald then sang merrily. "I see _where _they are."

"Vat are ya singing about," Buff Frog raised an eyebrow as Tom lit the two torches and went back to his crew.

"Never mind," Archibald kept going with his partners. "Come on, we still have 50 more torches to light."

Shrugging his shoulders, Buff Frog decided to leave that alone as they continued to light the other 50 torches…

* * *

"Who does Ludo think _he_ is," declared Nebula as she carried Janna up to a higher room with Upsilon following behind them. "Sending us on a wild goose chase through a castle and a mansion like this; he must be desperate with wanting to get away. And that makes him all the more valuable of a prize."

The next room they entered had an army of craw monsters waiting for them, along with some ghosts that went through the walls and skeletons that emerged from the cracks. This got Janna to giggle at their presence. Upsilon was focused on the army of monsters in front of him and prepared his weapons.

"Ludo's monsters detected: must eradicate them all," he fired missiles, bullets, and flames from his artillery, which took the monsters out in an instant. Janna was admiring the décor, which had several gargoyle statues as well as paintings of Ludo's monsters.

"You know, as nice as these paintings are in this mansion," Janna voiced her opinion. "It would look far better if these paintings were of the 18th-century poet John Keats."

"No time to focus on an 18th-century poet Janna," Nebula got her attention as a troll monster crashed from the ceiling, just as they thought it was over. "We got another troll monster that we have to deal with."

"So it seems," Janna sighed as the both of them got by Upsilon's side and they planned on working together to taking this troll fiend down.

"Okay Janna, here's how we're going to do it, I'll carry you up to the troll's face where you'll kick it, and then I'll blast it with one of my spells," Nebula instructed. "Then you slide under and use your hairdryer to trip it."

"Right, and then Upsilon will deliver the final blow afterwards," Janna grinned.

"Objective has been accepted," Upsilon proclaimed.

"Now let's start," Nebula grabbed Janna and flew up close to the troll monster who was swinging its hammer around, but Upsilon held the hammer down for them to make their move. Once they were up close, Nebula let go of Janna who then proceeded to kick the troll right in the face, getting the monster to screech. As Janna landed on the ground, Nebula got out her wand and charged it.

"Alright you troll, let's see how you like this: Shattering Dark Crystal Launch!" Nebula fired the attack which pierced through the armor and pelted it in the skin. By then, Upsilon released the grip of the hammer as the troll was wincing in pain while bellowing. Janna then took out her hairdryer and slide right underneath the troll, where she extracted the cord of the hairdryer and used that to trip the monster over, landing with a thud.

Of course, Upsilon delivered the final blow by firing missiles at it until the troll monster was destroyed and vanished. Nebula was quite pleased with this as was Janna and Upsilon.

"And that's how it's done," Nebula ended up giving a fist bump to Janna.

"Hey, you can even fist bump correctly," Janna smirked. "You do it differently compared to how Star does it."

"And how does _she_ do it, if I may ask?"

"She uses the palm of her hand and treats it as a handshake," Janna flatly said.

Nebula shook her head at how nuts Star Butterfly can be.

"Ludo's monsters have been trashed, this pleases me!" Upsilon blared out.

"Only Upsilon," Janna shook her head.

Nebula then led her team into the next corridor of the mansion.

Suddenly, they heard a rather girly scream one room over, which got Nebula curious and Janna to snicker at whoever screamed like that.

"Dang," muttered Nebula as Janna snickered. "Something must have scared that nerdy girl."

Nebula assumed it was Daron that screamed like that as they continued…

* * *

"What the heck was_ that_ Andrew?"

"I've never heard a higher-pitched girly scream in my life, and I hear Daron scream _my_ name all the time."

In reality, it was _Andrew_ that let out that girly scream, as Marco and Star were giving him the most bewildered look that they could muster up. The treasure hunter's eyes were bugged out and his hand was on his chest. It was clear that a ghost popped up in front of him and resulted in the proper reaction. But now he was humiliated that he just did that in front of Star and Marco.

"Ahem, sorry about that," he tried to regain his posture, shaking his head and waving his hat right in front of his face. "I had just lost my composure for a second there."

"Well, what causes you to lose your composure," Star queried. "I mean what causes it besides having to deal with my antics?"

Andrew put his hat back on and grimaced. "I guess this mansion is quickly getting to me. I'd much rather be on my island where no one can sneak up on me."

"Except for Janna and her pranks," Star smirked.

"Thanks for reminding me of that Star," Andrew deadpanned.

Star just shook her head and Marco just shrugged as they continued. Andrew made sure ghosts wouldn't pop up into his face. Luckily, he was able to take that off his mind when he saw a troll monster storm right through the wall along with three craw monsters in front of it. Star, Marco, and Andrew took out the three craw monsters individually with a rainbow fist punch, karate chop, and an uppercut respectively, but now they had to work together to handle the troll monster.

"Alright, here's the plan," Marco had it figured out. "I'm going to distract it, then Star can weaken it and prevent it from attacking us, and then Andrew can go in for the kill."

Andrew smirked. "Sounds like a pretty good plan to me."

Marco got started by jumping behind the troll monster and kicking it with his shin. This got the troll to yelp and turn to face Marco. When it was in place, the troll monsters repeatedly tried to smash the Latino with its hammer, but Marco kept rolling and somersaulting out of the way. Star then flew up from behind and aimed her wand at the monster.

"Alright, you troll monster, time to make things extra _sticky _for you: Syrup Tsunami Shockwave!" She fired a syrup tsunami, which cued Marco with getting out of the way when the troll monster was caught off guard. Just as it turned around, the syrup tsunami shockwave made contact and got it stuck in the syrup, unable to move or swing its hammer.

Andrew then decided to deliver the final blow by drilling right into the troll monster from above and jabbing it multiple times before the monster was knocked out cold. Once the monster was gone, Team Star decided to take their leave.

"Shall we continue our trek in the mansion," Star asked.

"Sure thing," Marco smiled.

"Might as well get by most of this place," Andrew sighed.

They then left the gooey syrup mess behind as they continued to see if they would encounter something else that they'd need to take care of…

* * *

"…and that's how it happened with the Space Colony GOD scenario from five months ago," Daron finished her explanation as they were now in a room with a bunch of paintings on both sides.

Pony Head and Jackie were perplexed by what she just explained to them.

"Wow gurl, that must've been one heck of an experience for you," Pony Head remarked.

"Yeah dudette," Jackie was impressed. "It's awesome how you got to go on an adventure like that."

"Yeah I know," Daron smiled. "It was good even though I was constantly left behind a lot. But now here I am again on another adventure, and I've improved from letting myself get held captive. Not to mention I'm traveling with you two, and I couldn't have chosen better girls to travel with than you two."

"Ah, that is flattering," Pony Head smiled. "It's nice since I'm a floating unicorn head with unicorn magic and Jackie is part mermaid, with mermaid heritage, and that's what makes our team special."

"Yeah dudettes," Jackie grinned. "We are a pretty unique team."

"Of course," Daron then eyed the paintings as did her partners. "Okay, I feel that the paintings of these monsters are a little offsetting."

"Yeah, they look like the ones we've been fighting this entire time," Pony Head scrunched her face.

"Whoever made them must have a fascination with monsters," Jackie rubbed her temple in confusion before leaving it at that.

"Some fascination," Daron shrugged. "Let's go down this well."

Pony Head and Jackie obliged as the jumped down and ended up in a lower part of the mansion. They then encountered what appears to be a trolley, and it looks like they have to ride in it. Daron claimed that she had an idea on how to use it.

"Hey girls, if I may make a suggestion with using this trolley," Daron started, getting their attention. "I can sit in the driver seat to steer and control the trolley as it moves, Pony Head can hang onto the handlebar to allow the trolley to jump, and Jackie can get in the back so she can get this trolley moving and stay on the move. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan girlfriend," Pony Head smirked. "I can handle getting this thing to jump over the obstacles in our path."

"And I have no problem with getting this thing moving," Jackie took out her helmet and put in on her head. "It'll be like riding a skateboard."

"Excellent, let's go," Daron got into the driver's seat, Pony Head hung onto the handlebar with her mouth, and Jackie got onto the back where she got the trolley moving.

Once it was on the move, Jackie decided to stand up on the back while hanging on just like she was riding a skateboard, as the three girls were whooping and hollering about the experience they were going through…

* * *

"Guys, here come some monsters! Cover for me, will ya," Tom told his teammates as they entered another room that had more torches that needed to be lit.

"Don't vorry Comrade Tom, vee got this," Buff Frog charged for the craw monsters along with Archibald.

"Yeah, we'll handle these punks," Archibald yelled as Tom nodded a thank you before getting to work.

While Tom was lighting up the torches, Buff Frog and Archibald held the monsters off. Buff Frog started by grabbing two of the monsters and bashing their heads in. Archibald delivered a kick to the two of them which knocked them out. Six more monsters were charging for them.

"How ya doing with those torches Tom," Buff Frog questioned.

"I've got two more to light," he called out, already lighting up two torches.

"Okay, just checking."

Buff Frog popped out some chewing prum and put it into his mouth as he started chewing. This signaled Archibald to get out of the way as Buff Frog started blowing several bubbles in the monsters' direction. This caused the six monsters to be tackled to the ground on a red carpet once they popped. While they were unable to escape, Archibald jumped in and spat acid on the six of them, as they let loose some ear-piercing screeches. They vanished shortly afterwards as Archibald approached Buff Frog.

"Awesome job there Buff Frog," he said. "We took care of those monsters with no problem."

"Yeah, vee have."

"I just got done lighting the torches in this room," Tom told them as they were ready to continue. "Let's go."

They then left the room and headed down a corridor. Along the way, Tom lit two more torches while Archibald found a gargoyle statue that he had to activate. With one touch, he caused light to occur and after Tom lit the two torches, they were teleported to a lower area. This one was a blue-bricked room with two more torches needing to be lit.

"Well we must have gotten somewhere underneath the mansion," Tom created two more flames and got right to work.

"You know guys, I really feel like at home in this mansion," Archibald confessed.

"That's because you're a gargoyle," Buff Frog pointed out.

"Yes, and it's also the fact that Eclipsa once lived in a mansion similar to this one," the gargoyle revealed. "Or was it a castle...?"

"Either vay, it still feels like an environment for you," Buff Frog concluded.

"Exactly," Archibald grinned.

"Alright, that takes care of those two torches," Tom walked away from the two lit torches.

"Good, as of now, vee have lit 18 torches so far," Buff Frog pushed open a door for them to go through. "That leaves us with 42 more torches left, right?"

"Yeah, and I don't think we've missed any so far," the demon pointed to the gargoyle statue. "There's _another_ gargoyle statue if Archibald wouldn't mind doing the honor."

"Of course," Archibald saluted before flying to touch it.

"Vhy not," Buff Frog shrugged. "Not like there's any turning back to do."

And so after the gargoyle touch it, the statue created a light that teleported the three of them to the next leg of the mansion…

* * *

"Oh my goodness, these ghosts are so hilarious with how they're trying to spook me," Janna was heard cackling as some ghosts were right in her face. "You guys nearly made me spooked my pants off this time, but not quite! Better luck next time, you ghoulish ghouls!"

As Janna was cackling her heart out, Nebula shook her head while Upsilon was trying to comprehend the enjoyment. It was then something came to Nebula; why did Janna have such a fascination with the supernatural so much? The dark girl wanted to find out for herself.

"Excuse me, Janna," she got her attention. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you have such a huge interest in the supernatural anyway?"

"I am quite curious with the appreciation of the non-existent phantoms and supernaturalism," Upsilon was curious too.

Janna was actually surprised that her partners wanted to know why she loves the supernatural so much. Perhaps her teammates were able to learn more than just go after Ludo.

"Alright, you two want to know," she double-checked in which they nodded. "Sure, I'll tell you. It all started when I was in the 3rd grade, and I was only 8 at the time. If you should know, I've already been pulling pranks on people ever since I was in the 1st grade and I was a delinquent at such a young age. But my interest in the occult started when I was in the third grade."

"Are we going to need to watch a flashback to your childhood," Nebula raised an eyebrow.

"Well sure, if you two want," Janna smiled.

"Eh, why not," Nebula shrugged.

"Permission to activate flashback has been granted." Upsilon gave his approval.

"Awesome, so it started merely 8 years ago," Janna started as a flashback occurred.

* * *

_The flashback showed what had happened 8 years ago on Halloween night as Janna was heading to a Halloween party with two friends of hers. The two friends were identified as Jackie (who didn't have that streak in her hair) and a hesitant Marco who was not only disturbed by Janna's pranks, but Jackie was around him, which really shut him off._

"_**You see, it was on a Halloween night when I went to a Halloween party with my two friends Jackie and Marco…although I made the latter come out of a prank I pulled on him," **__Janna chuckled as she was heard in the background. __**"Anyway, once we entered the haunted house, we were in for a big surprise."**_

_The eight-year-old Janna brushed off how creepy the house looked as she entered with her two friends on both sides. Once they entered, they saw many spooky faces and masks pop out of nowhere and people in ghost costumes and someone in a witch costume came out of nowhere and made strange sounds._

_Apparently, it was enough to get the 8-year-old Marco to scream like a girl, close his eyes and ended up jumping into the 8-year-old Jackie's arms. Jackie flinched by what Marco just did, but didn't say a word as Marco looked like he was going to pee himself._

_By contrast, Janna found this to be hilarious and started laughing at the scary costume._

"_Haha, wow, that was awesome," the younger Janna was ecstatic. "You guys were cool."_

"_**So I take it that you gain the interest in the occult from that instance," **__Nebula spoke over the flashback._

"_**Yup, but it doesn't end there," **__Janna was heard as the flashback fast-forwarded to 2 years on her tenth birthday. __**"When I turned ten, I had gotten a special surprise from my father that I loved and cherished."**_

_The ten-year-old Janna had opened the presents her father got for her. The presents were revealed to be morbid decorations, as well as some candles and a crystal ball to hold a séance with, and an undead guidebook for people interested in the supernatural. Needless to say, Janna had all the stuff set up and ready for her to use. _

"_**Over the years, my interest with the supernatural only increased," **__Janna was heard in the background, as the flashback sped by several years. __**"Since then I've been getting a kick out of creeping people with fake fangs, stealing a spellbook, going to ghost séances, and watching horror movies."**_

"_**So that's how it happened," **__Nebula mused. _

"_**Wait, there's more," **__Janna announced as the flashback showed her on her 15__th__ birthday. __**"When I turned 15, my dad got me something extra special and it completed me on the inside."**_

_The gift that her father got for her was a dark spellbook which he thought was fake magic, but in reality, the book had some dark grim magic that was real._

"_**That's right, he got me my own dark magic spellbook, but the thing is, this magic was real," **__the 15-year-old Janna held the book high and was starting to master it. __**"So with that said and done, that's how I became fascinated with the supernatural and it got stronger all the time."**_

_The 15-year-old Janna was shown cherishing the book as the flashback comes to an end._

* * *

"And so because of the real grimdark magic from the spellbook, I've been tapping into dark magic spells," Janna smirked as she concluded. "And I've gotten better with it ever since."

She took out the book for herself and showed it Nebula and Upsilon.

"Whoa, so that would explain how you're able to summon that ominous black smog every time we do Miracle Dark Inferno Blast," Nebula was able to figure it out.

"That would be _right_, and that's that," Janna rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry if I got carried away, but you guys wanted to know, and I told you."

"I have succeeded in understanding the concept of interest in dark magic and supernaturalism," Upsilon spoke. "Therefore, I have allowed myself to give acceptance to this astounding feat."

"Yeah, I'm willing to accept your interest in the supernatural too," Nebula sighed. "Thanks for letting us know about that."

"I should be thanking_ you_ Nebula and Upsilon, for wanting to know a little about _me_," Janna smiled.

Before Nebula could say something, Upsilon detected a trolley that they had to ride in.

"Detected a trolley of some kind in the vicinity," Upsilon beeped. "Proceeding to activate it when ready to launch and get going."

"Okay," Janna sees the trolley for herself and came up with a game plan. "Upsilon can drive, Nebula can hold onto the handlebar to make it jump, and I'll stay in the back seat so I can get this thing moving. Is everyone alright with that?"

"Sure," Nebula glanced.

"Affirmative," the robot got into the driver seat while Nebula grabbed the handlebar and Janna got into the back and pushed it down the rail until they ended up going through a rollercoaster-like ride.

While they were riding in it, Janna was heard whooping and hollering at the experience that they were taking while letting her hands up high. Nebula and Upsilon decided not to intervene, so they remained quiet.

"Wow, this is definitely trippy," Nebula muttered.

"It won't last for much longer," Upsilon pointed up ahead where the track ended abruptly and the dreadful team soared out of the trolley and ended up in a cave-like area below the mansion. They took another trolley that they had to use to travel.

They rode on it until they were brought back up to the main floor, where a blue-bricked passageway welcomed them with another door. Nebula kicked the door down as they entered the room.

"Whoa," Nebula was shocked by what she saw.

It was a giant skeleton, which was holding two platforms in both hands and a third platform was on its head. Janna notices it and decides to shout.

"Ha, that skeleton isn't going to become my BFF this time," she recalled befriending a skeleton in another dimension when Star took the class to an inter-dimensional field trip. This got Nebula confused, as did she touching the blue orbs which got the skeleton to change positions, allowing them to get by.

"This day just keeps getting stranger," Nebula scratched her head as they grabbed a large balloon to get by a running fan.

"Oh you'll get used to it Nebula," Janna smiled. "After all, I still want to go to the morgue."

"Uh, what's a _morgue_," Nebula questioned yet again.

Suddenly, Upsilon answered the question from the data he retrieved.

"Information on the term morgue has been retrieved; an accurate definition-the morgue is a place where bodies are kept, especially to be identified or claimed."

"Yeah, that's definitely a place Janna would like to visit," Nebula deadpanned as Janna grinned and snickered.

They then continued onward through the mansion…

* * *

Team Sparkle was just about nearing the end of their trolley experience as they got off the moment it crashed into a wall. To say that was nothing short of exhilarating would have been an understatement.

"Yeah, that was actually really cool," Jackie found herself back on the ground.

"It could have been worse," Daron muttered as she got lost in her mind. "We've been through worse actually."

Jackie nodded as she looked at Pony Head for her input. However, Pony Head found herself staring at something that was glowing and Jackie looked at what she was staring at. It was shown to be a purple glowing gemstone, which got the skateboarder chick to tilt her head. She then realized exactly what it was Pony Head was staring at.

"Hey, that's a Miracle Gemstone," indeed, it was the purple Miracle Gemstone to be exact.

"Oh so that's why it looks so familiar," Pony Head said in a mesmerized manner.

"We have to get it," Jackie then asked. "Pony Head, do you think you can fly over there and _retrieve_ it?"

"Sure."

Pony Head floated over to the gemstone on the perch above and grabs it with her mouth; keeping a good grip on it so it wouldn't fall into the abyss. She floated back down to Jackie with the purple Miracle Gemstone in her possession.

"Okay, I've got it," Pony Head muffled.

"Hey, what's going on," Daron was now curious.

"Pony Head just found a Miracle Gemstone," Jackie pointed as Daron saw it for herself.

"Wow, congratulations you two," Daron congratulated them.

Afterwards, Pony Head started having some thoughts about who should keep it. Because Daron was the leader, Pony Head felt a ping of generosity overcome her. She then approached the nerdy girl.

"Hey, Daron gurl," Pony Head spit the gemstone right into Daron's hand. "I think you should _keep_ the gemstone."

"_Me_, but why," she asked. It wasn't that she appreciated it, but she wasn't the one who found it.

"I dunno, I guess it has to do with the fact that you're the leader of this group," Pony Head confessed. "You started the whole team, and you're the reason we've gotten this far."

Daron was touched by Pony Head's gift. Even though she still had some sass and attitude, she had become much nicer since they started the adventure.

"Wow Pony Head, this was really thoughtful of you," Daron smiled.

"I have to agree with her," Jackie joined in. "You are the one that got us to go on this journey and we wouldn't have made it this far without you to guide us. So it's best if you get to keep the Miracle Gemstone Daron."

"Thanks, girls," Daron smiled warmly, pocketing the Miracle Gemstone. "I appreciate how supportive you two are. Now we got two Miracle Gemstones."

"That we have," Pony Head smiled, feeling good about giving Daron that token. "We have made some good progress."

"I'll say, this has been one heck of a fun journey," Jackie smirked. "Now let's continue."

"Right," Daron guided them through the area, now having the purple Miracle Gemstone in her possession while Jackie has the yellow Miracle Gemstone on her still from the Casino Dimension, as they were making good progress with their quest…

* * *

"Wow, this is a super long hallway."

"Okay Archibald, let's get going."

Buff Frog and Archibald took point and continued to keep an eye out for monsters and ghosts that would hinder Tom, while he continued to light a fire for the unlit torches. After a few moments, he lit enough torches to add the total to 25 lit so far. Suddenly, Tom felt a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Guys, there's something wrong here," he noticed after going around in circles several times.

"We're going around and around and around," Archibald cried. "Just like a merry-go-round!"

"Uh, can vee find a way out of here," Buff Frog was feeling dizzy.

"Hold up, I found five more torches to light," the demon went and took care of them.

After they had lit 30 torches so far, the means of escaping the room appeared, in the form of a door at the end of the hallway. Then right on cue, the client decided to pester them.

"What's the matter, you're only halfway there and-"

"Yes, we _know_," Tom deadpanned before pocketing the talkie and ending the call. "Let's go find and light the other 30 torches."

"Vay ahead of you Comrade Tom," Buff Frog was relieved.

"Let's see if we can find them." Archibald chirped.

They then continued through the mansion in hopes of finding the other 30 torches so the other teams can get out of the mansion, as well as the Demonstrix themselves…

* * *

"Ugh, I hate this _stupid _contraption," Andrew grumbled as Team Star was riding in their own trolley. "This thing is as bad as the cart and the bobsled we encountered previously!"

"Would you rather be in my position Andrew," Marco asked him as he had to keep the cart from stopping and on the move.

"I think I'm good," Andrew answered quite quickly.

"You can still try out an invisible goat if you like."

"I don't think they have invisible goats where I come from, Marco."

"Well, suit yourself, Andrew."

Eventually, the trolley ride came to an end as Star was off again while dragging Marco and Andrew along with her. They had gotten through several obstacles. They got through narrow walls, rode on spider webs that you can grind on, and they even jumped off a skeleton's head.

"You know," Star started as they got off the skeleton's head and headed to the next stop. "I'm wondering if Janna made a new skeleton BFF."

"Yeah, no," Andrew bluntly put it.

It was then they encountered the last thing that they'd thought that they have to face:

A dozen of Craw monsters lined up side by side as if they were an actual army. They had daggers in their possession and they looked like they meant business. That didn't stop Star and Andrew from putting a stop to them, however. Star had summoned a Honeybee Tornado Swarm on the monsters, which caused the monsters do drop their daggers as they were stung endlessly by the swarm of bees. Andrew meanwhile drilled down and managed to dig a hole, right underneath them and the hole collapsed to the point where the monsters being stung by bees fell through the hole and plummeted down into the abyss.

Star was satisfied with the result as was Andrew.

"Alright Andrew," Star went and gave Andrew a high five for their teamwork. "That was amazing Andrew, we should do that again sometime."

"Yeah, I guess it was kinda cool," Andrew muttered before noticing Marco was gone. "Hey, where did Marco go?"

Star looked around and didn't see him in sight, so she shrugged.

"I'm right over here. I got down here and waited for you two to finish up," Marco called down from a platform below. "And the way forward down here is available!"

Star and Andrew went down to regroup with Marco as Star congratulated him.

"Great find, Marco," the next thing she saw left her smiling like a fool. "Eh, I'm going to enjoy this."

"Why's that," Andrew raised an eyebrow until he saw what it was for himself, causing him to grimace. "Oh _no_..."

It was another trolley, and they had to take it to get by the next part, something that Star and Marco were smiling about.

"Not again," Andrew groaned as they did what they've done before and ridden the trolley down the rails to the next part of the mansion…

* * *

In the next area, Tom had gotten started with the next four torches that needed to be lit, while Buff Frog and Archibald scooped the place out. Three craw monsters appeared into the narrow corridor, bolting forward with their daggers straight. Archibald jumped up and spat acid in their direction before they got too close. This made contact and weakened them enough for Buff Frog to bash them quickly.

"Wow, the windows sure are spooky," Archibald looked out one of the corridor windows and saw how ominous the outside looked. The moonlight was seeping in through the window, which got Archibald interested. "That looks really cool."

"Alright, that's four more torches lit," Tom got their attention. "Let's keep moving."

They had headed to a gap in the hallway. Luckily, thanks to the platforms for Buff Frog to use, the three of them got by the gap with no problem. Of course, the next area they ended up in had no floor, so they fell right through.

"Well, I didn't see that one coming," the demon mumbled.

"Looks, vee have found balloon," Buff Frog pointed to the big balloon in front of them.

"And there's a giant fan below us," Archibald affirmed.

Buff Frog grabbed the balloon with Tom and Archibald right behind him. They were blown up to the top until they landed on an upper platform, where the balloon was released moments later. From there, they encountered two more torches that needed to be lit, as the demon prince worked on lighting a fire for both of them. They proceeded into the next room where they had encountered some unexpected guests.

"Alright, there are more monsters to deal with," Tom noticed that there weren't any torches this time so he could aid them. "But at least there are no torches this time, so I am able to aid you guys."

"Well that makes it easier for us," Buff Frog then jumped and landed on two of the craw monsters before bashing their heads in. Archibald was called in as he tackled through three more craw monsters before he bit them.

Meanwhile, Tom went and produced several fireballs in his hands that he hurled at the remaining monsters, scorching them endlessly. It was long before all the monsters that were in the room were taken out. Archibald then pointed to Tom that there were more torches to light up.

"You know, who would've thought that a way forward would be up here," Tom lit four more torches as they were heard crackling.

"Hey, you think the other teams are doing alright," Archibald was curious. "What if we're the only ones that are making any progress?"

"I doubt that, Archibald," Buff Frog stated as they continued to walk forward. "…But it's not impossible since they don't have vays of creating fire."

"Fair enough," the gargoyle and his partners had lit 40 torches now as they continued on to find the remaining 20…

* * *

Team Dread had weaved through the corridors of the mansion and ascended a flight of stairs. It was evident that they were lost in the mansion. The Demonstrix hadn't light all the torches yet, and Janna had the feeling that they won't be able to get out until all of them are flaming. Not that she cared, as she was having too much fun in this spooky mansion to be in such a hurry.

Fortunately, they ended up in another trolley, making their way through the cave basement for the second time in a row.

"You two ready for this," Nebula asked her teammates as they got the trolley going.

"Sure am," Janna smiled.

"Affirmative," Upsilon exclaimed.

They then went down the rail that the trolley was on. When it entered the next cave room, a second rail was shown coming from above. It was then Team Sparkle came in and was riding in on a trolley too right alongside Team Dread.

"Hey dudes," Jackie waved hello to the dreadful team while standing on the back like it was a skateboard with a helmet on her head.

This resulted in Upsilon to act as he has drawn out his guns and from his perspective; he saw the girly team as a threat.

"Intruders pose as a threat to the mission!"

"Easy does it Upsilon," Janna got him to settle down and not shoot. "Those are friends of mine. We met that team at the entrance, but seriously, they're the _last _team that we need to worry about."

"Excuse me, what's _that_ suppose to mean," Daron snapped, sounding offended. "We pose just as much of a threat as your team Janna."

"Yah gurl," Pony Head joined in with the sass. "Our team is just as powerful as your team, B-Fly's team, and the Demonstrix!"

"Hmph, hardly," Nebula snorted.

Both Daron and Pony Head were about to lash out at Nebula's comment, but before they could, another rail came in when they entered the next room, getting in between Team Dread and Team Sparkle. Riding down this rail was Team Star who had entered the room too. This had resulted in different reactions from the members: Daron waved to Star, Pony Head says hello to 'B-Fly' which she returns as a result, Janna winks at Andrew which gets the treasure hunter flustered, Jackie and Marco exchange hellos to each other, Upsilon was blaring about being close to the enemy, and Star delivered Nebula a smug yet friendly smile.

"Well it looks like Marco was correct," Star had spoken first. "We are heading to the same destination after all!"

"It would appear so," Nebula grunted. "But the real question here is who's going to make it first?"

"_Us_, obviously," Daron spoke up and looked proud. "We're going to take care of that Ludo and I'll make Star super duper proud of me!"

This got Star to exchange a friendly smile as Pony Head blurted. "Yeah, we'll make Ludo pay for stealing mah medallion and Jackie's seashell heirloom necklace!"

Nobody cared about what Pony Head said about Jackie's seashell necklace being an heirloom…well, _except_ for Marco, but that was to be expected.

"Wait what, seashell _heirloom_ necklace," Marco was confused as he took a glance towards Jackie. Jackie noticed that he wanted an answer, but she gave him this:

"I'll explain it to you later Marco, when no one else will hear it," Jackie promised. "I _promise _dude."

"Okay," Marco looked forward to Jackie explaining to him about that.

"Sorry about your stolen goods girls, but my team is going to make it first," Janna declared. "We'll be getting Ludo and taking what we need."

"You're a whole lot of talk, you know," Andrew barked. "You're only in it for the secret supernatural artifact!"

"That's…not completely true…" Janna stuttered as she had something else that she wants to accomplish.

"None of us are going to make it to Ludo and get out of the mansion if the Demonstrix members don't hurry up with lighting the torches," Marco shared his thoughts.

"I have to agree with you on that Marco," Jackie wholeheartedly agreed with the Latino before winking at him.

As Marco blushed, the three teams on the three trolleys continued through the underground part of the mansion, hoping the Demonstrix will finish soon…

* * *

Speaking of whom, they had two-thirds of the torches lit up as they continued barreling through the mansion to light up the remaining 20. Tom had just got done lighting up two more torches, so technically; they had 18 more to light.

"Vell, at least they're not 85 monsters," Buff Frog pointed out. The frog monster took notice of how the demon was starting to become exhausted. Tom noticed how Buff Frog looked concerned for him and pulled himself together.

"Well, that is a good thing for us, but I can handle this," Tom refused to back down. "Although I must admit that creating fire just to light all these torches has been taking a toll on me."

"It's been a vhile since you've had to use fire abilities like _this_," Buff Frog proclaimed. "Vee have done more vork within last two days than vee have done in the last 5 months."

"Five months? Try 2 years on for size," Tom rebuked.

"Hey, Tom, how are you able to keep this up," Archibald was curious.

"Well it's natural Archibald because I'm a demon," he explained. "And demons in the underworld have the power to control fire at ease."

"I see," Archibald smiled.

"And here's another thing I'll share with you," the demon continued. "Ever since I've been controlling my anger through meditation, I haven't had a reason to set everything ablaze when I was under pure rage at the time."

"You told me that your anger problems stemmed from your dad, right," Archibald brought up.

"Don't remind me," he scoffed, not enjoying that reminder. "Just to let you know that my dad is a Mewman while my mom is a demon."

"Yes, you have told me this before," Buff Frog proclaimed. "By the way, I've found four more torches to light."

Tom noticed them and went right over to them and light them up until they contained a flame in each of them. That left them with 14 more torches to light up. Buff Frog smashed through a cracked wall, which not only revealed a new path but two more torches. Archibald quickly followed Buff Frog as Tom went to light the two torches. Now they only had 12 more torches to light.

"Hey guys, it's another room," Archibald got their attention. "Buff Frog, if you wouldn't mind…"

"Vat, you can't open it yourself?" Buff Frog chuckled before bashing it down. Archibald gave him a content stare as he and Tom followed after him.

"That door was ten times my size." The gargoyle cried out.

"Uh guys," Tom trailed. "I…think we may have a bigger problem than a simple door…"

"Vat is it, Tom," Buff Frog then saw where Tom was pointing as did Archibald. They saw the one thing that they hoped they wouldn't have to deal with.

"Is…is that a…_giant spider web_…?" Archibald was having a hard time speaking from the sight.

"Must vee grind on it to cross over?"

"Can we grind on it at all is the better question..."

The three of them just stared at the giant spider web, wondering if they should grind on it or not…

* * *

After the trolley ride, the three other teams found themselves in the trippiest room to date. Said room had a wall that looked like it was made out of water. It took up the entirety of the room except for a platform and three alters with three switches. The wall had a strong psychedelic feel to it.

"Alright, what is this room," Janna was observing the room around her.

"I dunno, but this looks like the worst room yet," Daron had to hold onto Star. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, how can we get out of here," Pony Head asked. "I feel like I've just eaten another goblin dog."

"Nevermind goblin dog," Marco remembered something else from his boyhood. "This place feels like the haunted house that I went into when I was eight during Halloween night when I was with Janna and Jackie."

Janna and Jackie remembered that night; the former of which explained to her partners about that night previously.

"Oh come on Marco, it was awesome and hilarious seeing you scream like a little girl and jump into Jackie's arms like that," Janna chuckled. "Not to mention the look on your face made it seem like you were going to wet yourself."

Marco felt humiliated as Janna kept laughing, but Jackie decided to jump in.

"Now Janna, at the time, Marco was still a shy and sensitive little boy," Jackie scolded, sticking up for Marco, before smiling in the Latino's direction. "On the other hand, now that I think back to it, you did look kinda _cute_ when you jumped into my arms like that Marco."

That comment and the wink she delivered afterwards was what made Marco's face go bright red like a tomato. Fortunately, it faded once Upsilon blared out an important piece of information.

"I've detected three altars with three switches located," the robot pointed to all three alters with the switches to emphasize his point.

"Huh, well I guess they wanted to challenge _us_," Nebula huffed as she crossed her arms.

"Okay, since there are three altars, it would be wise if we split up with our respective team to each altar to find the secret on getting us out of here faster," Marco explained his plan. "It would require a little cooperation-"

"And _teamwork!_" Star sang, interrupting Marco.

"-but it would be beneficial," Marco finished, ignoring the interruption Star made.

"I have succeeded in comprehending the concept," Upsilon claimed. "Proceed to the third altar."

The robot directed Nebula and Janna to follow him to the third altar.

"We'll take the first altar then," Daron gushed. "Anything to make Star super proud of me!"

Star gave her a friendly smile and a wink.

"Yeah, anything that my man Marco _says_ is a good idea," Jackie smirked in Marco's direction.

Marco was starting to go red in the face again.

"Yes, anything to get out of this trippy psychedelic room," Pony Head moaned.

Team Sparkle headed to the first altar, leaving the middle altar to Team Star.

"I guess that leaves us with the middle altar to take care of," Andrew sighed.

He started walking to the center alter, but Star had grabbed him and Marco and already flew over to the middle altar as the three teams took care of the three alters one at a time.

* * *

Team Sparkle was the first to go as they touched the switch, causing the watery wall to turn bright yellow. Their way through was by requiring some platforms to fly over and use to get to the switch at the end.

"The switch that we need to activate is located right at the end," Daron pointed. "Looks like you'll have to carry us there Pony Head."

"No worries gurls," Pony Head took the lead. "I'll get us over there. Just hang on tight."

"You got it dudette," Jackie smirked as she grabbed onto Pony Head alongside Daron.

The floating unicorn head flew with the two girls hanging onto her over the gap, stopping on each platform for a moment to get a refresher before going again. Eventually, they made it to the center platform, where two craw monsters were waiting for them. They were hardly a threat for them though since they were easily disposed of when Jackie and Daron jumped down from Pony Head and landed on them individually, which was a strong enough impact to send the monsters flying off the platform. The switch they needed to activate was accessible and they touched it.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Star went next as they touched the switch that was in front of them. The watery wall turned cobalt blue. There were ghosts making a trail that could be used as steps as Andrew grimaced.

"Uh looks…like Marco will have to deal with this," Andrew gulped.

"Okay, I think I can use these ghosts as steps to pass by, and you two can catch up by flying and gliding," Marco explained.

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Star beamed.

Marco nodded and started jumping from one ghost head to another, slowly making his way back to the center platform. Star and Andrew then flew over there in the air to catch up as Star noticed how Andrew was reluctant with the ghosts.

"You sure are afraid of ghosts, aren't you," Star delivered a smug smirk.

Andrew grunted and huffed. "Remember when we were infiltrating the pyramid in the desert dimension five months ago; with the incident involving King Gloom Goo?"

"Of course I do, but I-"

"Hey guys, I'm going to need your help," the Latino hollered. "We got some monsters to deal with!"

Indeed, there were five craw monsters waiting for them as Star and Andrew regrouped with Marco. The five craw monsters weren't a threat to them at all. Star used Rainbow Fist Punch on two of them, Andrew jabbed the other two with an uppercut, and the remaining one was given a karate chop courtesy of Marco. Once they were disposed of, they had access to the switch. Marco noticed that Star and Andrew were having a talk before he interrupted them.

"Uh, did I miss out on whatever you two were talking about?" He asked as he touched the switch.

* * *

And then there was Team Dread, as it was their turn.

"Of course, we get the most difficult one," Janna groaned as the watery wall turned crimson red. A troll monster landed right in front of them as Upsilon was quick to deal with it since this situation called for the killer robot. Nonetheless, Nebula landed a Dark Purple Lightning Spear on the troll monster's chest.

"We get the difficult one because we are the most _dreadful_ and _**toughest**_ to deal with," Nebula smacked her fist into the palm of her hand. This actually got Janna to huff.

"Excuse me," she scoffed. "Have you forgotten that you had your butt trounced by the likes of Star Butterfly?"

"That was only because I was caught off guard," Nebula found the simple excuse as she and Upsilon were taking on the troll monster. "Now are you going to help us with this troll monster or what?"

"Sure thing," the Filipino nodded.

Nebula grabbed Janna who had her hairdryer out as she went over the head of the troll monster. Once overhead, Nebula released Janna who smacked the troll monster in the face with the hairdryer. Nebula then struck with a Shattering Dark Crystal Launch, which left it stunned. Upsilon then delivered the finishing blow by blasting the troll monster away with a missile. The troll monster was defeated and disappeared afterwards.

"Monstrous troll has been assimilated." Upsilon declared.

Nebula then grabbed Janna as the switch they had to activate was on the other side, with Upsilon activating his hover booster and flying after them. They worked on flying across to hit the switch that they need to activate…

* * *

The Demonstrix decided to navigate across the spider web in front of them. Tom was actually grinding on it while Buff Frog decided to walk on it as if it were a tight rope. Archibald had the excuse of flying over it so he didn't have any reason to grind on it. They were looking for the rest of the torches that needed to be lit. Tom, of course, was more worried about the giant spider that made this web occurring than anything else. Of course, now that he recalls, Ludo did have a giant spider that accompanied him along with an eagle. But the problem with that was everything they ran into Ludo; he never had the giant spider or the eagle with him. He only rode on a bat monster, if not a vehicle he was using. Aside from that, Archibald did feel the need to add:

"Be careful not to fall."

And Buff Frog added for good measures. "It's really dangerous here."

Well, only Buff Frog had that problem with flying, because despite being an impressive leaper, he can't fly. Plus, in order to leap at such a great height, he needs a platform to stand on in order to achieve it.

Brushing that to the side, Tom decided to ask. "Have you guys found the exit yet?"

"No," Buff Frog shook his head before seeing two more torches and pointing at them. "But I see two more torches needing to be lit, vhich vill bring total to 50."

Tom nodded as he went to take care of those two torches, while Buff Frog and Archibald kept searching. After a while, not only did they find the exit, but they found two more torches on the other side of the area as well. Now they would have given Tom a break and light the torches themselves, but neither Buff Frog nor Archibald can create a fire, so they had to wait for Tom.

As soon as Buff Frog got to the exit from navigating the spider web, Tom had finally gotten to lighting the two torches after having to get by the web himself. When he saw this, Buff Frog got his attention.

"Hey Comrade Tom," he hollered. "Vee got two more torches needing to be lit here!"

"Okay, I'll be right over there," Tom called back. "I'm going to do this the easy way!"

Not wanting to take forever on the spider web, Tom simply levitated to the exit that Buff Frog and Archibald were waiting for him at with the two torches needing to be lit.

Once he lit those two torches, bringing the tally up to 52 torches lit, the three of them proceeded through the exit.

"Comrades, there's a switch up there," Buff Frog pointed to the ceiling switch that was guarded with lasers and a sleeping monster.

"I'll get it," Archibald volunteered as he flew up to touch the switch.

One minute the room was enveloped by a bright light. The next minute, there was no floor below them as they fell down.

"WAAAUGGHH!"

"Buff Frog, stop screaming."

"Sorry Comrade Tom, natural reaction."

They landed into a room that had four more torches needing to be lit. Tom created flames in his hands as he touched the four torches, lighting a fire for all four of them. That means that they only have four more torches to light.

Before they left, they took a good look at the water-like wall in front of them. This left Buff Frog a little uncomfortable.

"Vow, vhy is room look like it's made of water?" It was clear that the place looked psychedelic to him.

"It's probably just an illusion to scare off intruders," Tom deduced. "Anyway, we only have four more torches to light, and then we'll be out of this mansion."

"Along with other teams," Buff Frog added.

"I found another gargoyle statue," Archibald informed. "I'm going to touch it."

Without a word, the gargoyle touched the statue and caused the three of them to be teleported to their final stop which contains the final four torches needing to be lit…

* * *

With the three switches having been activated, Team Star, Team Dread and Team Sparkle were teleported to the far end of the mansion, where the Demonstrix were lighting up the final four torches courtesy of Tom, with the crackle of the final flame being heard as a result. With that, the back door out of the mansion burst opened and the nine heroes stampeded out of the mansion. Archibald gaped while Tom was recovering from all that fire lighting.

"Vell, that's some nice vay of thanking us," Buff Frog shook his head as he grabbed Tom and went to join them with Archibald following.

"I know they were itching to leave but a thank you would have been nice," Archibald whined.

"Try to remember, they are after the same person vee are, as ordered by our client," Buff Frog informed.

"That's true." Archibald nodded as the Demonstrix went to join the nine other heroes back outside to a couple of balconies.

Once they got there, the 12 of them came to a standstill when they caught sight of the one person that they were _all_ after:

Ludo Avarius.

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 17!**

**I'LL BE HONEST READERS; THIS WAS WITHOUT A DOUBT, ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE CHAPTERS THAT I WROTE! I **_**LOVED**_** HAVING THE OTHER TEAMMATES INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER ESPECIALLY IN THE BEGINNING AND TOWARDS THE END WHEN THE 3 TEAMS (MINUS THE DEMONSTRIX) GROUP TOGETHER TO GET TO THE END OF THE MANSION!**

**ALSO, I AM GOING TO SAY THIS IN CASE IT _WASN'T_ OBVIOUS, I AM A FAN AND SUPPORTER OF JARCO (MARCO AND JACKIE SHIPPING) WHICH SHOULD BE EVIDENT BY THE INTERACTIONS THEY HAD IN THIS CHAPTER.**

**ANOTHER THING, I DID A BACKSTORY FOR JANNA IN REGARDS TO HOW SHE GOT INTO THE SUPERNATURAL GIG IN THE FIRST PLACE. I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE GOT INTO IT IN THE SHOW, SO I DECIDED TO COME UP WITH ONE FOR HER. TO GIVE HER SOME MORE DEPTH TO HER PAST.**

**ONE OTHER THING, THE MISSION THE DEMONSTRIX HAD TO DO WAS TO LIGHT THE TORCHES INSTEAD OF BLOWING THEM OUT! I INTENTIONALLY DID THIS TO GIVE TOM AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THIS CHAPTER!**

**NOW THE NEXT CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE EVEN MORE EXCITING SINCE ALL 12 HEROES WILL BE DEALING WITH LUDO AND HIS MONSTERS WHILE INTERACTING WITH EACH OTHER! I HOPE YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THAT!**

**FOR NOW, YOU CAN REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE, AND TUNE IN FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!**


	19. Monster Storm

**CHAPTER 18-MONSTER STORM:**

* * *

The twelve heroes had sprinted out of the mansion, most of them glad to be out of that crazy horror house…except for Janna maybe. Aside from that, the four teams were just surprised that they had been exploring the same dimensions at the same time period throughout this whole adventure, though some had a feeling that there were other teams around. When they arrived at one of the many balconies, the twelve of them stopped and looked around.

"Okay, we finally got out of that mansion," Marco sighed in relief as he was right next to Jackie.

"Yeah Marco, I knew we could do it," Janna remarked, as she leaned on Andrew, which got him to blush.

"Just don't let your guard down just yet," Nebula warned, feeling something was coming.

"Nebula's right, anything could happen at any moment," Star declared.

Then right on cue, the Avarian Ludo came to the scene, riding upon a bat monster. It was unclear if this Ludo was a fake or not, but this was the one person everyone was after. As Ludo was silhouetted by the huge moon behind him, he took notice of twelve different faces glaring at him and they had their reasons for it too.

"Hmph, trying to stop _us_ now, what a _joke_," Tom barked, a fireball emerging in the palm of one of his hands.

"What did you say," Ludo roared. "NOW I'M _REALLY_ MAD!"

"There you are, ya Shrimpy Birdbrain," Buff Frog bellowed before getting the talkie to his mouth for confirmation. "He's the one, right?"

The client overheard Buff Frog calling Ludo a Shrimpy Birdbrain, and this was his reaction:

"_Shrimpy Birdbrain_…? I'm the _universes MOST __**AWESOME-" **_The client cut himself off as if he realized that his cover was almost blown, and he cleared his throat. "…ahem, yes, I mean…take him out quickly!"

Buff Frog had a smirk on his face as if he had just pulled a gambit of some kind.

"This vill cost ya _extra_," Buff Frog told the client.

It was then Daron stepped up and pointed a finger at Ludo.

"You Shrimpy _Crow,_" Daron snarled a similar insult to what Buff Frog called him. "You _stole _Pony Head's medallion and Jackie's seashell heirloom necklace didn't you!?"

This got Ludo to cross his arms and huff.

"Huh, as a matter of fact, _**yes**_ I did steal that medallion and necklace," he straight up admitted it. "So what…?"

"So you jerk," Pony Head yelled. "Give me back my medallion you runt!"

"And give me back my seashell necklace too!" Jackie demanded from the Avarian.

Ludo turned away to face Nebula, who looked just about ready to slaughter him on the spot.

"What do you think, Upsilon," Nebula had to ask the robot, restraining herself from tearing that Avarian up from limb to limb. She had to know if it was a _fake_ first.

"Sensors jammed: real Ludo ID not possible," Upsilon revealed.

"Huh, well we'll just have to find out, won't we," Janna scoffed before giving Ludo a cold look.

"What's the matter, cold feet," Ludo scoffed and sneered. "Well then, here I come!"

"Bring it on Ludo," Andrew roared, cracking his knuckles.

It was then Ludo snapped his fingers and caused a mass horde of monster to appear, filling up the sky as if it was a monster tempest. Monsters of all kinds aside from the common craw monsters now plagued the area, each of them consisting of the monsters that they faced throughout this journey. This got some of the heroes to gasp, and some scowled, but only one went into the face of this monster storm.

"That won't stop _us _Ludo," Star growled, as she was the first to act. "That is if that's really you…"

"DO YOUR WORST PRINCESS BUTTERFLY," Ludo roared. "THESE MONSTERS WON'T BE TAKEN OUT SO EASILY BY YOUR LONESOME!"

"Well then," Star came to a halt and turned to face the 11 other heroes behind her. "I suppose I won't be doing this by myself then!"

"You've got plan Star Butterfly," Buff Frog was the one who asked that.

"Well, no," Star admitted as Andrew rolled his eyes. "But I…"

"I have a plan, if you'll all hear me out," Marco declared as everyone turned to face the Latino, including the monsters that were gaining on them. "It's simple really. Ludo has the cases with the switches rigged up so every time we defeat a wave of monsters, the switch can be accessible and allow us to take to the next area! What I'm suggesting is that if all 12 of us take turns in taking out the monsters in our respective teams, we'll be able to push on to the next area and this will increase our odds considerably!"

"So you're suggesting vee use teamwork," Buff Frog thought it over and felt this was their best course of action. "Yeah, I guess vee can do that."

"I think this will work for us Marco," Tom admitted.

"Yeah, I'll be willing to go with it as long as I can impress Star," Daron gushed and winked at Star.

"Marco, I trust you with this plan," Jackie sounded confident in him. "And this will make it easier."

"Uh huh Marco, I'm willing to go along with this," Janna agreed before turning to face Upsilon. "But I'm pretty sure Upsilon can handle things himself."

"Affirmative," Upsilon confirmed that.

"Excuse me karate boy; Marco," Buff Frog suggested. "May it be any trouble if the Demonstrix handle first round of monsters?"

"Yeah, I want to beat some monsters to a pulp," Archibald did an air fist.

"I don't see why not," Marco shrugged. "Okay, so the Demonstrix will handle the first wave of monsters until we activate the switch in the case. Then Janna and her group will handle the next horde and clear the way for us to use the next switch. After that, Daron and her partners Pony Head and Jackie will take care of the next group of monsters for us to get by. Lastly, after that is done, Star, Andrew and I will deal with the last horde, and then we'll work from there. How does that sound?"

"I actually think that works for all of us," Star supported him.

"Yeah Earth Dude," Pony Head agreed. "I can work with _that_."

"Me too," Andrew crossed his arms.

"I guess that'll work," Nebula huffed.

Everyone else let out their own comments to show that they support Marco's idea.

"Alright, that settles that," Marco smiled.

"In that case, let's get moving," Nebula said.

The twelve heroes got the monster fighting underway to show Ludo that they meant business because apparently, he didn't get the message the first three times.

The Demonstrix entered the battlefield to take on the monsters while the other teams remained on the sideline, waiting for their respective turn to come up.

While he had to wait, Marco felt like approaching Jackie, since there was something he wanted to know from her.

"Excuse me, Jackie," he muttered and got her attention. "Can you please tell me what's up with your seashell necklace being an heirloom?"

Jackie smiled and decided to tell him.

"Okay Marco, I'll share my secret with you," she got close to his ear. "Now this is how it goes."

She then whispered the truth about her mermaid heritage right in Marco's ear. What he was hearing got Marco's eye to bulge out, but he kept it quiet for Jackie's sake…

* * *

"There was something strange about the client," Tom had rushed to the east side of the battlefield, remarking how suspicious the client was acting.

"Don't worry about _it_ now," Archibald ensured. He was oblivious to any doubts that they should know about the client. Tom then turned to face Buff Frog, who had leaped and punched two bat monsters out of the sky.

"Vee gotta deal with this creep first," Buff Frog reminded. "Ya ready…?"

Tom nodded and turned to focus on the fight that they had to deal with. With his hands stretched out, Tom ended up engulfing several of the craw monsters into flames. It was then he threw a flame at the armored craw monster and pierced right through the armor. It burned right through its skin as it bellowed before being fried alive.

Meanwhile, Archibald and Buff Frog had continued the tag-team efforts that they've used throughout the mansion. Buff Frog would get them tied down with chewed up prum that got them stuck before Archibald would tackle them and then kick them or bite them. This caused all the craw monsters they handled to howl and vanish in seconds. Ludo was observing this from above and had made some growling sounds and gritted his teeth.

"NO MERCY, GET THEM _ALL!"_ He roared and snapped his fingers.

It was then a squad of 12 craw monsters came from the west side, one of which was an armored one that was leading the crew. Each of them was wielding daggers in their possession. Ludo also threw in two bull train monsters for good measures.

"They're closing in on us," Archibald cried.

"No vorries," Buff Frog grabbed Archibald and was holding him like a gun. "Vee can handle this."

"Right on, now let's open fire!"

Buff Frog then jumped and had Archibald shoot several acid spits at the craw monsters like a gun. Archibald was also able to spit acid on one of the bull train monsters. With this severely weakening them, Buff Frog and Archibald turned to Tom who then decided to take over.

"Alright, now it's my turn," the demon floated in midair, raised his arms up, eyes glowing red and within seconds, he created a firestorm that was unleashed on the monsters in front of them. Afterwards, he tossed fireballs at the bull train monsters, which took them out quickly. The firestorm that he unleashed managed to wipe out most of the craw monsters in their path. And those that did remain from the impact were taken out of commission by the likes of Buff Frog and Archibald; the former punched them or bashed their heads in, while the latter bit them or tackled them before kicking them.

"Take this," Archibald bit the last craw monster on the neck, causing it to let out a screech and disappear. Once the monsters were gone, the switch in the case was unlocked and was accessible. Nebula was impressed as she rushed on over and touched the switch.

"That was _quick _work they did…"

"That's how vee do it," Buff Frog grinned.

"Wow, those guys are good," Star gawked in admiration.

"They have to be," Andrew smirked, crossing his arms. "They are the Demonstrix after all."

The switch caused the twelve heroes to be teleported to the next balcony over that more monsters were waiting for them on…

* * *

Team Dread took on the next wave of monsters. What they had to deal with was a ton of craw monsters, three wizard monsters, two turtle monsters, and one huge troll monster. This was quite the step up from what the Demonstrix had to deal with, as it seemed to be a difficulty spike. Despite this, Nebula wasn't afraid and neither was Janna or Upsilon. Since they were put through the most challenging obstacles, it was clear that they had to be fit for this horde of monsters.

"No more time for us to be messing around," Nebula got her wand out and spun it before directing herself to the wizard monsters. "Let's get ready!"

"You got it Nebula," Janna had her hairdryer out as she spun it and bashed several craw monsters heads in already.

Meanwhile, Upsilon jumped into the fray and let loose every single arsenal weapon that he had.

"I was _born_ ready," Upsilon declared, firing away at every craw monsters that came in his path.

Janna started with the other craw monsters while Upsilon was handling the two turtle monsters. Three of them were charging for her with their daggers out to stab her with. Janna was way ahead of them as she jumped out of the way before swinging her hairdryer into the daggers, which knocked them away. She then stepped on their hands before they could retrieve their weapons, as they shrieked from the pain she was inflicting with her boots. She then got off, only to use her hairdryer again and smack them away like a couple of baseballs as they were sent off the balcony. Three more craw monsters noticed this and charged right for Janna; 2 of which were on both sides. But Janna sidestepped the two incoming ones, allowing them to stab each other with their daggers. She then did a backflip and did a swing kick on the remaining craw monster, which knocked it out.

Meanwhile, Nebula was dealing with the wizard monsters, which were becoming a huge problem not just for her, but for Janna and Upsilon as well. Not only were they healing the other craw monsters that Janna was ko-ing and the turtle monsters that Upsilon was dealing with, but every time she kept trying to kick them, they'd sidestep them and smack her with their wands. She also tried firing her spells on them, but they'd get out of the way in the nick of time just before contact made it. Nebula knew that she needed help from someone who could distract them, and who better to do that than Janna Ordonia; the mischievous girl who is known for her sleekly streak.

"Hey Janna, I need your help with this!" Nebula bellowed.

"I'm tied up right now," Janna was literally tied down by two craw monsters that had her held by the arms.

"Janna, I need you to create a distraction for these wizard monsters so I can deal with them," Nebula ordered. "You know, call them those names you like to use, tease them, taunt them, heck even blow a raspberry to insult them!"

"Oh, well why didn't you say so," Janna shook off the craw monsters with no sweat. "I can do that!"

Janna disregarded the craw monsters as she approached the 3 wizard monsters while Nebula flew out of range and went behind.

"Hey ya knuckleheads," she started to jeer. "You guys have a lousy aim! You'll never be able to hit me with those pathetic sticks you call wands! Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!"

She then blew a raspberry, which did it for the wizard monsters. They focused their attention on her while firing magical blasts at her, which she dodged and somersaulted out of the way.

On the sideline, Andrew rolled his eyes at Janna's antics while Star was shown laughing her head off at how Janna was teasing the wizard monsters. Meanwhile, Marco shook his head and uttered how this was 'typical Janna'. Jackie seemed to agree as she displayed a similar reaction.

The diversion Janna was giving allowed Nebula to have the perfect chance to approach one of them and got her wand charged up.

"Alright, now it's my turn to turn the tables: Dark Purple Lightning Spear!"

She fired the lightning spear at one of the wizard monsters, which caused it to screech and fall down, allowing Janna to smack it with her hairdryer. The two remaining wizard monsters noticed this and were about to aid their comrade by healing it, but Nebula put a stop to that.

"Oh no you don't…I'm putting a stop to that: Shattering Dark Crystal Launch," She fired the aforementioned attack on the two remaining wizard monsters. The attack stabbed them like daggers, getting them to let loose an ear-piercing screech as they fell down and disappeared along with the remaining one that Janna smacked one last time across the face with her hairdryer. Now that they were gone, there was nothing keeping them from destroying the craw monsters, since Upsilon already blasted the turtle monsters done with missiles. This caused them to roar in pain before vanishing.

"Alright, now allow me to help you with the craw monsters," Nebula dove in and got her wand ready.

"That's what I like to hear," Janna was right beside Nebula with her hairdryer ready to be used.

There were six craw monsters remaining, which Nebula took out three of them with several Dark Purple Fist Punches, while Janna used her hairdryer to bash the remaining craw monsters heads in as they disappeared.

"Okay, that wasn't too bad," Janna wiped her forehead.

"We're not done yet," Nebula pointed to the troll monster in front of them. "We still have that creep to worry about."

Upsilon had already started firing away on the troll monster while Nebula and Janna took out the remaining craw monsters. Even though the killer robot was able to hold his own, it wouldn't hurt if he got some assistance from his allies, considering how many times he had to dodge the hammer it was swinging.

"I require some immediate assistance," Upsilon blared, dodging yet another hammer swing before opening fire on the troll again.

Nebula and Janna both jumped in as Janna hit the troll's stomach with her hairdryer, after jumping off from Upsilon as a way to reach it, while Nebula attacked the troll monster from before. While the hairdryer caused some pain to the troll monster, Nebula's attack only left behind a mark. It then turned around and swung its hammer directly at the dark girl. Nebula flew up out of the way, but she didn't count on the back end of the hammer to hit her. She was knocked out of the sky as a result and was shaking her head.

"Ugh," she was still dazed. "This troll monster seems to put up a fair fight…"

"Well, did you expect _anything_ less," Ludo cackled as he interrupted. Nebula just glared at him before turning to face Janna.

"Janna, use you're Miracle Gemstone!"

"Wuh," Janna shrieked, giving her the look as if she was crazy. "I…I can't use the Miracle Gemstones!"

"Alright, then give it to me," Nebula demanded.

Janna instantly complied and threw her white Miracle Gemstone towards Nebula, who caught it in the palm of her hands. Taking out the green one, Nebula inserted both Miracle Gemstones into her wand, which enhanced its power.

"Upsilon, give me an opening!"

"Eradication commenced!"

Janna took her hairdryer and swung it onto the hammer, as she held it down to keep the troll from swinging it any longer. Upsilon gave Nebula an opening while continuing to rain bullets upon the troll monster. Nebula then took her wand, placed it right in front of her face and charged it with both gemstones emitting a green and white glow. Before she knew it, the wand then fired a Dark Purple Lightning Spear at the troll which was more powerful than the original. The contact from the enhanced lightning spear combined with Upsilon's assault caused the troll monster to let out a shrill yell before falling onto the ground. The troll monster was taken out of commission before it vanished. The monsters having been defeated allowed the case with the next switch in it to be available. Nebula took out the white gemstone and gave it back to Janna before pocketing the green gemstone and her wand. Daron, who along with the other heroes, was shocked by how they handled that as the nerdy girl went over to touch the switch, while Janna was pocketing her gemstone. But not before she asked Janna the all-important question.

"You guys have Miracle Gemstones too?"

"Sure we do Daron," Janna smirked while Daron touched the switch. 'We were lucky to have encountered two of them so far in this adventure!"

"We found two Miracle Gemstones too," Daron chirped as the heroes were teleported to the next balcony. "I have the purple one that we found in this mansion, and Jackie has the yellow one that we found in the Casino Dimension."

"How interesting," Janna was smiling. "Glad you girls got two Miracle Gemstones too."

"Uh huh," Daron motioned Pony Head and Jackie to join her in handling the next batch of monsters…

* * *

Team Sparkle was going to deal with the next group of monsters, as Daron was eager to get started, as was Pony Head and Jackie.

"Alright girls, this is the big time fight," Daron declared, with her fake wand in her hands. "Let's show this creep Ludo what happens to those who mess with us, and show that thief who he's dealing with! So are you girls ready to show him what for?!"

"Uh huh, I was _born_ to be ready sistah," Pony Head whinnied and started charging up her horn.

"Oh yes we are dudette," Jackie was raring to fight too. "Let's do this."

"If you insist," with one snap, Ludo summoned some more monsters to take out Team Sparkle.

Of course, 3 bat monsters were called into the fray, which they expected, as were 4 octopus monsters. Unfortunately, what they didn't count on was a single troll monster landing in front with a loud thud. This got the girls to recoil since this was their first time fighting a troll monster, and if Team Dread had such a difficult time with the troll monster, then it was clear that the troll monster would easily _**clobber**_ the girly team.

Luckily, Daron had a plan, and she was going to put it into action.

"Okay, so there's a minor setback with having to face a troll monster," Daron remained calm. "But we still have an ace up our sleeve, and it's in the form of Invincibility Glitter."

Pony Head knew exactly what she was talking about as she got ready as did Jackie, who got out her skateboard and helmet and made sure she was all set. Pony Head then shot some strange magic around them, showing a very colorful display with glitter and rainbows. Daron spun like a ballerina and spun her fake wand in a style similar to _Sailor Moon_. Once the wand was in her face, a bang occurred from Pony Head's horn as Pony Head flew around Daron clockwise while Jackie skateboarded around Daron counterclockwise on the ground.

This got the monsters to look in awe as did the others in the sideline. As Team Sparkle was surrounded by glitter, this seemed pretty cool to the other heroes. Marco and Andrew remembered this from the city dimension but they didn't see the team use it to their full potential…until now that is.

"Wow, I still don't know what that's supposed to do," Andrew was confused.

"Huh, if I can understand it correctly, that move they're doing grants them invincibility," Tom deduced.

"How though," Janna tilted her head.

"With Pony Head Magic, that's _how_," Star grinned in confident as Pony Head was using her magic to make her team invincible while flowers and seashells appeared.

"Yeah, that's why they call it Invincibility Glitter," Marco smiled in admiration. "And as Jackie said, it's awesome and radical."

Surely enough, Daron felt the ping of invincibility flowing through her as did Pony Head and Jackie. They decided to use this to their advantage as they ran to the monsters. Pony Head managed to stab the bat monsters down for Daron to smack them out with her fake wand. Meanwhile, Jackie was handling the four octopus monsters by jumping in front of them. Because of the invincibility, they couldn't grab her. She then dished out several karate chops on them, getting the others on the sideline gawking.

"Wow, she's impressive," Star admitted.

"Yeah, I never expected Jackie to use karate with fighting," Andrew rubbed his head.

"It looks familiar though," Janna recognized the karate fighting from somewhere. "But where have I seen that from before?"

"You know, I think I may know vho is responsible for her karate moves," Buff Frog came to the conclusion.

"Yeah, me too," Tom agreed.

They all stared at Marco, whom they believe was responsible for her knowing how to fight with karate. The Latino knew that they figured it out so he nervously laughed.

"Eh, I may have taught her _some_ of my karate moves at one point," he said meekly. "Well, it was mainly to help her defend herself since she didn't know anything about karate, and because I _wanted_ to."

As Jackie took out the four octopus monsters easily, Jackie turned to look at Marco and winked at him, with a face that showed that she learned from the _best_. Marco felt his cheeks turn pink as a result.

"It's official," Andrew smirked. "Jackie learned how to fight with karate from Marco."

"It would appear so," Janna shook her head.

Of course, now Team Sparkle had to deal with the troll monster. Jackie was holding it off while Pony Head decided to assist her.

"Need some help with this punk, Jackie?"

"Yes, I would appreciate that."

"Let's hurry before our invincibility wears off," Daron declared as they got to work right away. Jackie got behind and kicked the troll monster with her shin, getting the troll to howl before Pony Head zapped the troll monster right in between its eyes. The shriek it made caused it to topple down on its back. Daron decided to finish it while gripping her fake wand.

"Alright, let's see how you love to be _bonked_," raising her wand over her head, Daron then slammed it right onto the troll's head. This caused the troll to bellow in pain before it was knocked out into unconsciousness. The troll monster vanished shortly after as their invincibility wore off. The case that those monsters were guarding was open. However, this time it wasn't another switch. It was the cannon, much to Andrew's dismay.

"Oh, of course, that's just what we needed right about now," Andrew grumbled. Marco and Jackie got into the cannon first to be blasted to the next balcony before the treasure hunter went in with Pony Head.

"How come their troll monster went down easier than ours," Janna groaned to Nebula who just shrugged.

"Their monsters were the _easy_ ones," she proclaimed. "Besides, they were chalked up on that invincibility stuff anyway."

"I guess your right," Janna and Nebula blasted from the cannon to the next balcony, with Upsilon following afterwards.

"Yahoo, my team took out those monsters with no sweat," Daron whooped as the Demonstrix used the cannon next.

"You girls actually surprised me," Star said.

"Wait what," Daron turned to stare at her. "It's a surprise that my team managed to take down one of Ludo's tougher monsters?"

"Well kinda," Star rubbed her head as she headed for the cannon. "But it has more to do with how much you've _grown_ since 5 months ago when you were held captive by Ludo."

"Don't forget Star, that I also broke into a military base just to bust you out of jail," Daron reminded her. "You do remember that, right?"

"Yes, I do," Star jumped into the cannon with her head sticking out. "But still, you and your girls did a great job with handling those monsters like a real pro."

As Star popped into the cannon, Daron was surprised about Star said to her. Essentially she was saying that Daron was becoming more like Star all the time. Before the cannon blasted, Daron jumped in and starting making some gushing comments with Star before they were both blasted to the same balcony the other heroes were located at…

* * *

As soon as Star caught up with her team, she saw that they were already into the fourth wave of monsters.

"Decided to join us after flirting with your _girl_friend," Andrew teased as he punched the lights out of the nearby wizard monster. Star reacted to that by giving Andrew a blank look on her face. She then shook that off before facing the monsters in front of them.

"It's payback time Ludo," Star yelled out.

Team Star had to deal with several bat monsters, two wizard monsters (one of which was already disposed of by Andrew) three craw monsters, and a single troll monster. Star decided to take on the remaining wizard monster while taking out her wand.

"Alright you wizard monster, let's see how you like a shocking experience: Rolling Thunder Lightning Blast," she fired the attack onto the wizard monster, getting it to squeal before falling onto the ground. The wizard monster was about to restore its own health, but Marco jumped in and karate chopped it square in the face, and knocking it out so it couldn't restore any damage made.

Meanwhile, Andrew found himself surrounded by the craw monsters and the troll monster, as they had him cornered.

"Back…OFF!"

Jumping to the air, he then landed back down with his fist slamming the ground violently. In an instant, the ground started quaking which got the craw monsters to stumble backward while the troll monster toppled over.

"Star, Marco, I could use some help over here," Andrew barked, as he swatted away the bat monsters that tried to swoop down at him before one of them made off with his hat. In seconds, the troll monster was back up and prepared to bring down its hammer onto him, but the treasure hunter gripped it in the palm of his hands.

"I'm coming, Andrew," Star ran over with her wand out. "Marco, let's go assist him."

"Absolutely," the Latino was willing to help their treasure hunting comrade.

Star flew and summoned a Syrup Tsunami Shockwave on the bat monsters, getting them stuck to the ground to keep them from Andrew. Star then headed to the troll monster where she used a Rainbow Fist Punch on the back of the troll monster. Even though the troll monster recoiled, it kept trying to crush Andrew with its hammer, but Star used some Rainbow Blasts to try to weaken it.

It wasn't until Marco jumped down and landed a kick right on the troll's head did it move. This got Andrew to shove back the hammer, as Star then summoned a Mega Narwhal Blast on the troll. The impact that the narwhals left on the troll monster was enough to knock it out cold, right after howling. Andrew then decided to drill right into the remaining bat monsters and any lingering craw monsters. Each of them let out a shriek before being knocked out and defeated. The other teams were gawking and amazed by Team Star's wonderful fighting prowess as the final case for the final switch was accessible. All twelve of them grouped up as the switch was touched and they ended up to the final balcony…

* * *

However, once they made it to the final balcony, they were greeted to a whole bunch of monsters thrown in all directions. There were three separate large platforms linking to the balcony, but the balcony as a whole had 2 wizard monsters, 2 bat monsters, a couple of dozen craw monsters, and 2 troll monsters. Simply put, they were outnumbered. As Ludo was heard cackling to death, nearly all of the heroes let out gasps, with the likes of Marco _almost_ about to faint.

"I don't believe it," Tom was discouraged. "We're outnumbered!"

"Oh no, it's an endless sea of monsters," Archibald cried out.

"Uh…so, vho vants to go after _them_…?" Buff Frog was wondering as he nervously glanced at the two troll monsters that were almost ready to crush them.

"We will all have to fight this round," Star exclaimed as she came up with an idea and pointed to the three separate platforms in front of them. "Okay, we'll go out in three separate teams: Nebula, Daron, and Archibald will go with me to the left platform to handle the bat monsters and wizard monsters, Marco, Janna, Jackie, and Tom will go to the center platform to fend off the couple dozen craw monsters, and Andrew, Upsilon, Pony Head and Buff Frog will go to the right platform to take care of the two troll monsters, then-"

"GET THEM," Ludo bellowed**. "CRUSH THEM **_**ALL!"**_

"Just go, just go," Star demanded.

And so the three groups of four heroes split up to the respective platforms to take on the separate monsters together…

* * *

On the left large platform, Star, Nebula, Daron, and Archibald were together to take out the 2 wizard monsters and the two bat monsters. They all wanted to show Ludo that they mean business as Ludo was supervising them to see how 'poorly' they'll do. To the Princess of Mewni however, it was clear that they would be able to do this.

"Alright, looks like the party's getting started," Star was clearly confident. "Bring it on Ludo, we'll take on anything!"

"Eh, so are you fools ready to quiver in fear at my monsters," Ludo chortled.

"Bah, they're just useless bags of flesh," Nebula sneered.

"That's right," Daron jeered. "You won't be able to stop us Ludo!"

"Yeah, you're finished," Archibald joined in.

"Take them down," Ludo commanded as the two wizard monsters and two bat monsters started to making their attacks on the four of them.

"So what do we do now?" Daron asked.

"We'll tag team," Star claimed.

"Okay Star, but who should go with whom?" Archibald queried.

"I don't know about you, but I want to do a tag team effort with Nebula against one of the wizard monsters," Star was eager. "I've been looking _forward_ to teaming up with Nebula again."

Nebula actually jumped when Star said 'again', as she had no idea what she was talking about. She wasn't really thrilled about it but considering the circumstances, and the fact that Star did put up a good fight with her back in the jungle dimension, Nebula felt that it shouldn't be a problem.

"Oh, okay fine," Nebula sighed. "But you better do your attacks right."

"No worries, I got this," Star smirked as she and Nebula went to deal with one of the wizard monsters.

"I guess that leaves us with one of the bat monsters," Daron rubbed her head, staring at one of the bat monsters.

"Not a problem, I'll fly you up close," Archibald insisted.

With no words to come out, Archibald grabbed Daron and they approached one of the bat monsters.

Star and Nebula were circling the wizard monster in the air while the monster was firing lasers from its wand. They needed a plan, and they needed one now.

"Okay, so what do we do from here," Nebula asked.

"I know," Star snapped her fingers. "We can do a combo attack to throw the wizard monster off!"

"Combo attack," Nebula was confused.

"Yes, I know you don't remember this, but what we do is combine our spell counterparts and unleash them together," Star explained. "An example that I had in mind was Rainbow Fist Punch and Dark Purple Fist Punch respectively."

Now Nebula was beginning to understand what she was saying. Nodding her head, she got out her wand and brought it up close, showing that she was ready and Star was signaled to get out her wand too.

"Alright, let's go," Star chirped.

"Let's get this over with," Nebula shook her head.

On three, both of them fired their respective fist punches on the wizard monster, which threw it off guard. The wizard monster was knocked out of the air. When that happened, Star soared down and clonked it on the head with her wand. It was then Star had something else she wanted Nebula to remember.

"Hey Nebula, you know you are able to teleport to throw this wizard monster off track," Star told her.

"Teleport, you mean like Miracle Levitato?"

"Yes, except that you can do this with ease and not needing to think while doing it."

"Uh, okay, but how do I do that?"

"You should know since you're the ultimate life form," Star quirked. "But all you need to do is feel that you can do it since you know how to do it even though you don't remember how to do it."

Nebula shook her head at the number of times Star said 'do it'. Nonetheless, she relaxed and remained focused in order to achieve it.

With any amount of luck, Nebula successfully teleports right in front of the wizard monster, she takes the chance to kick the wizard monster in the back. Star gleamed at this as she floated back down.

"See Nebula, I told you that you can do it," she assured.

"Well, that was kinda cool," she admitted. "Okay, I guess I should thank you for that."

"Anytime Nebula," she smiled before seeing the wizard monster still being active. "But we're not done yet. What do you say we put this wizard monster out of commission?"

"Looks like we'll have to whether we like it or not," Nebula rolled her eyes as she joined Star in taking care of the one wizard monster.

Meanwhile, Daron and Archibald were closing in on the bat monster and were about to attack it.

"Okay, we're closing in on our monster," Daron stated. "Now is our chance to strike!"

"Right, and miss?"

"It's Daron," Daron looked curious. "And what is it mister…?"

"Archibald," the gargoyle then said. "And I just want to apologize for how my team attacked you and your partners like that in the jungle dimension. It was all a _misunderstanding_."

"Well I don't hold any grudge against that, so it's no biggie," Daron shrugged. "In other words, you're forgiven."

"Alright," Archibald smiled. "Now let's take this bat monster out of the sky."

"Oh yes, just toss me towards it and I'll smack it down with my fake wand," Daron insisted.

"Yes Ms. Daron," Archibald obeyed.

At the right moment, Archibald tossed Daron towards the bat monster where the nerdy girl had her fake wand out and slammed it onto the bat monsters' head. It screeched before falling onto the ground where Daron landed safely. Then Archibald soared down and finished the monster by spitting acid on its head. This caused the bat monster to shriek in terror as it then vanished. Upon seeing how they did it, Daron and Archibald high five each other.

By then, Star and Nebula took care of the wizard monster with a combination of Nebula's dark purple lightning spears and shattering dark crystal launch and Star's rainbow blasts and cupcake blasts. Needless to say, they did a pretty good job, but there was still one wizard and one bat monster left to take care of.

"Alright, we'll switch," Star chirped. "Daron, you'll go with me to take care of the other wizard."

"Yay," Daron squealed at helping Star with the other wizard monster as Star grabbed her and flew over to the other wizard monster.

"I guess that means we're stuck with the other bat monster," Nebula groaned.

"It would appear so," Archibald shrugged. "But don't worry; we can take care of it."

"Doesn't look like we have much of a choice," Nebula muttered, flying up to the bat monster along with Archibald.

Daron was being carried on Star's back as the princess of Mewni soared around the wizard monster several times to get it's guard down. Star had fired some Narwhal Blasts and Rainbow Blasts to get it thrown off.

"Okay Daron, here's what I'm going to do," Star told her fan. "I'll dish out an attack that'll leave this freak in a daze and then fly in close so you can smack him down and we'll both finish it off."

"Sounds great to me," Daron was still dreamy about teaming up with Star. "Let's do it Star."

"Way ahead of you," Star got ready to use her wand as she fired a Rolling Thunder Lightning Blast on the wizard. This shocked it by surprise and got it left in a daze. Star then flew in close and allowed Daron to smack the wizard down with her fake wand. The wizard monster cried out in pain as it landed on the ground. Star flew down and together with Daron delivered one last smack on the head with their respective wands which were then followed by them high five each other afterwards.

"That was awesome Star," Daron gushed.

"I know right," Star gushed back. "You know Daron, just five months ago, you were being held captive, and now look at you. You're becoming more like _me_ every day."

"Awww Star," Daron blushed.

"I mean it," Star had that warm smile on her face. "I should have taken you on adventures ages ago."

"I agree, Star," Daron gave her a hug, which she returned.

Then there was Nebula and Archibald who were handling the last bat monster. Nebula fired a Dark Purple Lightning Spear from her wand which got the bat to shriek in pain. Archibald was impressed and applauded her.

"Wow, you're good Nebula," Archibald congratulated. "It's no wonder why you and your team easily trounced us back in the city dimension."

"I know," Nebula deadpanned.

Archibald decided to deliver the final blow by flying down and spitting some more acid onto the bat monster, causing it to wince and scream. As it was knocked out, Star, Daron, Nebula, and Archibald were together again and stared at Ludo dead in the eye.

"Ludo, stop this senseless fight," there was a begging tone in Nebula's voice.

"No way," Ludo snorted. "My plan is going far too great to go back now!"

"And just what is your plan exactly?" Nebula was curious.

"Fool, you'll just have to wait until _tomorrow _to find out what my plan is!" Ludo bellowed.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Star barked.

She picks up the knocked out bat monster that Nebula and Archibald took care of and threw right in Ludo's direction. The bat monster hit Ludo right in the shoulder, making him recoil on his own bat monster.

"Well it serves that jerk right," Daron huffed.

"No kidding Daron," Star smirked as she scooped up Daron again while Nebula just stood there with a blank look on her face and Archibald was smiling away…

* * *

On the center platform, Marco, Janna, Jackie, and Tom are dealing with the couple dozen craw monsters in their path. There were so many of them, that they had no idea how they could take them all out at once. Despite this, Marco remained as determined as Star was.

"Even with the number of craw monsters we have to deal with, we won't give up so easily," Marco said, karate chopping a craw monster in the head.

"That's a great way to put it, Marco," Jackie joined in on the karate chopping.

"Yeah Marco," Janna swung her hairdryer and foot into two more craw monsters. "We should stand our ground against these pests."

"But at this rate, with all the craw monsters we have to deal with, there may not be any ground to cover left," Tom tossed a couple of fireballs at some of the craw monsters. "So we need a plan. Marco, do you have a plan that we can work with?"

"I'm still trying to think of it," Marco struggled. "It hasn't come up yet."

"Well I know you can come up with something clever," Tom assured. "Heck, I remember that one time where you tricked those two rude drivers into thinking that we were going to race them in my chariot, only for them to get arrested moments later."

"Yeah, that is a good point Tom," Marco then came up with something. "I think I got it! As Star puts it, we need to use teamwork if we can get rid of these monsters together. Although I think we should split up into two groups of two people so we can cover more ground faster."

"That's an excellent plan Marco," Janna smirked. "It's no wonder why I love stealing your house-keys, your personal ID cards, and breaking into your house at night just to take some of your food."

"Thanks _a lot_ for reminding me of that Janna," Marco sighed.

"Well in this case," Janna had her eyes set on Tom. "I'm going to pair up with the cool looking demon dude!"

"Uh, it's Tom," Tom was taken aback by her enthusiasm all of a sudden.

"Okay Tom," Janna shrugged and took his hand and escorted each other to a spot to deal with the craw monsters together. "Let's take care of these pests."

"Alright…" Tom felt a little awkward, but he decided to just go with it. This left Marco and Jackie alone.

"Well Marco, I guess that means we'll be teaming up together to take care of these monsters," Jackie smiled.

"Yeah, uh, I guess so," Marco laughed nervously.

"And I think this'll make it easy for us to cover more ground faster," Jackie encouraged. "So let's do this."

"Way ahead of you," Marco then got Jackie to join him in taking care of the craw monsters in a separate spot on the platform away from Janna and Tom.

With Janna and Tom, they were holding their own together with fireballs being thrown and the hairdryer being smacked on the monsters. Still, they needed to come up with a team combo move together.

"Okay uh…Janna," Tom started. "Putting our differences aside from the time we fought on that skyscraper, what should we do to fight off these monsters faster?"

Janna was thinking for a moment or so until something came to her.

"I got it," Janna showed him her hairdryer. "See if you can light my hairdryer on fire for me."

"Say what," Tom jumped as if she was crazy. "Are you sure that's a good idea, what if it gets ruined!?"

"Nah, don't worry about that," Janna waved. "I don't use this for my hair anyway, and besides, it's my fighting tool, and if it's lit in flames, we can fend off these monsters faster."

Tom was still a little skeptical about this but finally decides to go with it. He then creates a flame with the palm of his hand and then touches the hairdryer with it. This caused the hairdryer to be surrounded by demon flames. This got Janna all wide-eyed.

"Oooh, that is _wicked_ cool," Janna was amazed. "Now this is going to be effective."

She starts swinging it around as Tom had to duck out of the way.

"Watch where you're swinging that…"

"Relax Tom, it's no sweat," Janna smirked. "Watch this."

She then charges and swings the fiery hairdryer into some craw monsters and spins around while hitting multiple monsters at once. This did take out more of the monsters than it would have normally, and Tom was seemingly impressed by how well Janna was doing.

"Okay, I'll have to admit, that was impressive," the demon acclaimed.

"Told you I had this covered," the Filipino grinned. They then fought off the rest of the craw monsters they were dealing with by throwing fireballs and dishing out kicks respectively. It seemed that the nightmare loving girl and the demon Mewman hybrid made a pretty compatible team.

"Hey uh Tom," Janna had something else she wanted to say.

"What is it, Janna?" He knocked out another craw monster.

"I just want to say that I'm sorry for starting a fight with you and your partners back in the city dimension," Janna apologized. "I had thought that you were after something I wanted and as you were trying to tell me, it was all a misunderstanding."

Tom was actually surprised by this. He wasn't expecting an apology from Janna. Even so, he decided to respond.

"Eh, I guess it's no hard feelings," Tom wasn't willing to hold a grudge like he would have if this happened in the past.

"You know it. And actually, I always wanted to be friends with a demon," Janna kicked another monster. "Because demons are wicked cool and to be frank Tom, you're wicked cool too."

"Oh, I don't know what to say," the demon knocked out the last monster that was after him. "Other than to say thank you for that, I guess…"

"Anytime, and I hope we can be friends too," Janna smirked, punching the last craw monster in the face which knocked it out.

Tom was now wicked surprised by that. Janna wanted to be his friend. He didn't have many friends except for a few such as Marco and possibly Star. And now Janna wants to be his friend, this came as a shocker.

"Yeah, I hope we can be friends as well," the demon said awkwardly.

"Yup, so anyway, it looks like we cleared out our monsters," Janna smiled.

"Uh, that we did," Tom admitted. "I guess we did make a great team."

"Oh yes, we did," she high five him. "Ludo definitely _underestimated_ us."

"No kidding," the demon chuckled as the both of them relished their win.

Nearby, Marco and Jackie were handling their own bunch of craw monsters with karate chops and they were holding their ground.

"You know Jackie, I'm glad that I taught you karate," Marco admitted.

"Me too," Jackie smiled. "And I'm glad that I learned from the best."

"Uh t-thanks," Marco was blushing. "Anyway, it seems we have a lot more monsters to take out. How are we going to cover all of this just from karate-chopping?"

It was then the perfect idea came to Jackie's mind, remembering the night she went out on her first date with Marco.

"I got the perfect solution, Marco," Jackie got out her skateboard and got out two helmets; one for her and one for Marco. With a smirk, she asked. "Does this look familiar to you?"

Marco instantly knew what this meant as he was going to ride on the same skateboard with Jackie again, like the night he went on the first date with her.

"Oh yes, I know what you have in mind," Marco smiled. "You want us to ride on that skateboard together so I can karate chop the monsters that come in our path, right?"

"Exactly," she nodded. "And it'll be like the night we had our first date on."

"Right," Marco chuckled. "Let's do this."

After they both put their helmets on, they got on the skateboard where Jackie skateboarded while Marco karate chops any monsters that got in their way, while Jackie holds onto him so he won't fall. It was an effective way of dealing with them too, not to mention the faster way. As he is smacking each craw monster off the edge of the platform, Marco then remembers what Jackie told him and decided to bring it up.

"So Jackie, your part mermaid huh," He uttered.

"Yes," Jackie nodded as there was something else that she wanted to get off her chest as Marco was smacking the monsters down. "And Marco, there's something else that I have to talk to you about too…"

"What's up, Jackie," Marco was curious.

"I…I've been thinking back to what happened two years ago, and I have started to remember the doubt that I once had for our relationship," Jackie sounded quite forlorn, which got Marco concerned.

"What do you mean Jackie," he was worried.

"Well…2 years ago during that party to start our summer, after the moment when Star confessed to you in front of everyone that she had a crush on you, I had felt doubtful about _us_, especially with the way that you ran up the stairs after Star when she had to leave Earth for Mewni immediately. Afterwards, you became distant with me," Jackie sounded sad. "And then you left Earth for Mewni for several weeks without even sending me a text. Then I started to wonder if maybe 'you would rather be with Star than to be with me', and that left me feeling hurt...I…I like you, Marco, you mean the world to me and I love how you wanted to appreciate me for who I am and not just for being a popular girl."

Marco was starting to feel guilt build up as Jackie continued her explanation. It looked like tears were building up in the ends of her eyes.

"I mean sure you came back to me sometime later when you revealed that Star's crush on you was just a passing phase, but…but what if it _wasn't_ a phase, and if you really did want to be with Star? The dates we went on meant so much to me and now that I think about that time in my life, it makes me feel…"

"JACKIE!" Marco cried out, getting her attention and the craw monsters. The monsters fell down as he shouted that.

"Look, I know that was a crazy time in my life too! I know I left for Mewni, but Star was in trouble, and it got worse when Ludo was possessed by Toffee! Just know that I don't have any romantic feelings for Star! I never had feelings for her! I care about Star, but only as my _friend_! She's my _close friend_ at best! Jackie, I'm wicked sorry for doing that to you and making you feel hurt, but Star and I are _not_ a thing!"

The monsters were still dazed by that as he continued.

"If there's one person in the universe that I have feelings for, it's _you_! I've_ always_ liked you, Jackie! I had always crushed on you ever since we were in kindergarten! I worked way too_ hard_ to win your heart and finally get you to notice me, and I don't want to waste that. Not just for _my_ sake, but for _your_ sake too! I'm never going to leave you Jackie, and I'll make sure of it!"

"I know Marco, and I'm glad I mean so much to you dude," Jackie smiled. "Remember what you said at Star's sleepover when you revealed your crush on me? You said that I deserve to have someone who'd appreciate me for who I am and you wanted to be that somebody."

"Exactly," Marco punched an incoming monster in the face. "Everything I said that night was true, and I do want to get to know the real you and to be honest…I'm glad you finally told me about your mermaid heritage."

"Oh I know, and I told you because I **_trust_ **you," Jackie karate chopped a monster in the face too. "Thank you for making me feel better about _us._ I have no doubts that we'll stay together."

"Of course, and I accept your mermaid heritage too," Marco assured. "Besides, I had bunked with a princess from another dimension, fought monsters all the time, and traveled to dimensions with exotic creatures, so I'm not surprised. In fact, I'm the luckiest guy to have gotten together with you."

"I know Marco, and I'm lucky to have gotten with you too," she smiled. "Now what do you say we take care of the rest of these monsters."

"With pleasure Jackie," Marco smirked as they rode on the skateboard and finished off the rest of the monsters.

It didn't take long for the remaining craw monsters to be dealt with due to the talk Marco and Jackie had that thrown them off guard. When they were all gone, they got off the skateboard.

"Woohoo, we did it, Marco," Jackie whooped.

"Yeah, we sure did, didn't we," Marco cheered too.

"I'll admit, it was pretty fun doing that with you," Jackie smiled.

"You think that's fun," Marco grinned. "Think of what other types of _fun_ we could have together Jackie, just the two of us _alone_."

"Oh ho ho, Marco," Jackie smirked. "Just for that, you're going to have to feed me pizza nuggets."

"Only if you feed _me_ pizza nuggets in return," Marco smirked too.

"It's a deal dude," she winked.

Then unexpectedly, Marco went and gave Jackie a kiss on the mouth, which she quickly returned as the both of them relished their monster victory together…

* * *

And on the right side, Andrew, Upsilon, Pony Head and Buff Frog were left to take care of the two troll monsters. They looked tough, but it was clear that they weren't thinking about giving up so soon.

"Heh, this is no problem for us Ludo," Andrew had the same amount of confidence Star and Marco displayed. "I'm just warming up."

He tried to charge for a troll monster, only to be swatted away like a bug. Upsilon then made the announcement.

"Activation test unsuccessful: minimal resistance detected."

Pony Head had no idea what that meant and if it was possible, she would have scratched her head.

"Uh, what does that even mean?"

Buff Frog looked just as confused.

"It's beyond me as well, Pony Head," he shrugged.

"Ugh, looks like we'll need a game plan," grunted Andrew who was holding his arm. "Buff Frog and I will take care of one troll monster, and Upsilon and Pony Head can take care of the other one."

"Must I comply with the inferior floating equine head with a horn," Upsilon was not amused.

Pony Head didn't take kindly to that insult and would have lashed out at him for that, but Buff Frog beat her to it.

"Yes," the frog monster said flatly as he and Andrew took on the other troll monster, leaving Upsilon and Pony Head with the one in front of them.

"Floating equine head with a horn, restrain this monstrous figure by using some energy source from your horn to…freeze it in its tracks," Upsilon ordered.

Pony Head was still not keen on being insulted by a robot, but she sighed as she then did just that. She used her horn to freeze the troll monster in its tracks, keeping it from moving and swinging its hammer. This gave Upsilon the chance to unleash a full frontal assault on the troll monster with all the weaponry he had. Eventually, the monster was able to move again and it deflected some of its bullets with its hammer. It would have smashed Upsilon when he was off guard, only for Pony Head to float in and zap it right in between the eyes. This got the troll monster to topple over onto its back with a thud. Thus Upsilon was able to deal the final blow by firing a missile in its direction. The impact caused the troll monster to roar before it turned into ashes in its wake.

"Perhaps you are not as bad as you seem, floating equine head with a horn," Upsilon admitted.

"Yeah," Pony Head sighed, admitting that they did take care of that monster together. "I guess we did do a good job of handling that monster."

They went with that as they relished that defeat.

Meanwhile, Buff Frog and Andrew had to handle the other troll monster together. It seemed like the perfect team, two people who had an association with Ludo at one point. One use to work for Ludo, the other was tricked by Ludo into thinking Star and Marco were the enemies. Needless to say, they broke away from that and don't want any association with him. This was going to be interesting.

Or it would have been, but they were having trouble landing a hit on the troll monster. They were hopping and prancing around the troll for several minutes. Eventually, Buff Frog put an end to it and popped in some chewing prum into his mouth, getting Andrew confused.

"You're chewing gum at a time like this," Andrew rubbed the rims of his hat.

"No gum, this is chewing prum; it's monster variety of chewing gum," Buff Frog explained as he started to chew. "And this isn't first time someone's asked me that."

Within seconds, Buff Frog blew multiple bubbles towards the troll monsters' feet, and once they popped, the prum caused the monster to be unable to move its legs and its hammer.

"Let's just say I know how to _stick _it to them." Buff Frog proclaimed.

"I can safely say I can too," Andrew smirked and saw this as his chance. In one swift movement, he drilled into the monster and the impact of the attack caused it to fall over right onto its back. It didn't stop there. Buff Frog then jumped in and did a body slam on the monster, doing more of an impact as the troll monster was heard muffling as Buff Frog remained on top of it. Seeing that it loosened its grip, Andrew grabbed the hammer from its possession and decided to turn the tables on it.

"Now let's see how you like being target practice for a hammer," Andrew declared in pride.

Buff Frog got what Andrew was about to do. As such, he moved out of the way, leaving the monster dazed. The troll monster had no time to react as Andrew swung the hammer with all his might right into the monster. Before he knew it, the collision strike served as a home run as the troll monster was heard screaming while being sent flying into the sky to parts unknown. Andrew ended up snickering at what he did.

"Heh, that had to be the best example of giving a 'taste of your own medicine' that I ever delivered," Andrew smirked.

"No kidding," Buff Frog chuckled as well.

The both of them high five at their accomplishment, and it wasn't long before all four teams regrouped on the balcony…

* * *

Ludo was absolutely outraged by this defeat for the fourth time as all his monsters have been trashed.

"What? Is that all," Star sounded disappointed, wondering if Ludo has anything else up his sleeve.

"Anything else you have for us Ludo," Pony Head cocked.

"Argh, whatever," Ludo sneered at this as the twelve heroes had outmatched him, as he had his dimension scissors. "Just remember fools, those were the _easy_ ones!"

"Is that really the best you can do Ludo," Daron scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Hey Ludo," Buff Frog heckled as he folded his arms. "Are _all_ your monsters the easy ones?"

"You haven't even seen my most fearsome monsters yet…" he hissed.

With that, he got the bat monster to fly off into the sky as he cut open a portal and went through it. It disappeared shortly afterwards. The twelve heroes were relieved to be finished.

"Wow, did Ludo really think that all those monsters could stop the twelve of us," Tom hummed, as he folded his arms.

"I know right," Marco panted. "We really need a break from fighting monsters…"

"Keep bringing them," Archibald was too into it. "I'll take all the monsters down one by one!"

This got Marco to bulge his eyes as Buff Frog grabbed him.

"Uh no, that von't be necessary," Buff Frog insisted. "Anyway, vat vas Ludo thinking, as Tom pointed out, sending weak monsters we've been thrashing all this time to defeat all 12 of us?"

"That wasn't such a_ bright_ move on his part," Andrew snickered as he adjusted his hat.

"Yeah, what an idiot," Daron snickers in agreement with Andrew.

"But Upsilon had confirmed that the Ludo we just saw was a fake," Janna pointed out. "Especially if the fake Ludo we encountered in the canyon dimension was any indication."

"Well if that wasn't the real Ludo, then where is the_ real_ Ludo?" Jackie asked, standing next to Marco and holding his hands.

"Army of Monstrous Subjects: Destroyed!" Upsilon declared victoriously. Pony Head then glanced at Nebula.

"Uh, does he always do_ that?_" Pony Head asked.

"Unfortunately," Nebula sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, listen up guys," Star barked and got their attention, standing on a nearby stand. "Tomorrow morning, Ludo will begin his attack on the universe with his massive air fleet! And if we don't stop him by tomorrow night, Ludo wins, and its game over for _all _of us!"

"So that's what he meant," Nebula figured it out as Star continued.

"I know all of you have your reasons for going after Ludo, whether its to impress me, to get answers, get revenge, finding an artifact, getting back your stolen medallion and seashell necklace, or your taking orders from someone on a talkie…but none of us will be able to accomplish these goals if we don't put a stop to Ludo's armada from universal conquest!"

Star looked up into the sky and wondered if the fleet left for another dimension.

"The real Ludo has to be up on that air fleet somewhere, I know it…you can go along with your business without interference from my team if you wish, but please, I'm begging you, do not let Ludo win the day. All of what we've been fighting for up to this point would be all for nothing! All I ask from you guys is that you don't let that Ludo get away with all of this!"

Once Star was finished, there was nothing but silence for the next few moments. Finally, Buff Frog was the first to speak.

"Uh, it may not be part of Demonstrixs' agenda," he started. "But after all the interferences Ludo has caused, we'd be bad monsters for letting him get off scot-free. So you have the Demonstrix's help Star Butterfly, the same girl who babysat my tadpoles that one time."

"Don't worry Starship, we'll do everything in our power to hinder Ludo's plot for universal conquest," Tom promised her.

"That Ludo is a _bad_ bird," Archibald yelled. "He deserves to be punished!"

"There's no way I'm letting him off the hook either," Janna sashayed in. "You have my full support too _mayor, _and I will help in putting a stop to his evil scheme, for you Star, and for a handsome _treasure hunter_ I know."

Andrew blushed and rolled his eyes as Upsilon then blared.

**"LUDO AVARIUS MUST BE TERMINATED!"**

Then Nebula joined in and clenched her fists.

"Whether I get the answers and the truth to my past or not, Ludo will face the consequences for his ruthless actions," Nebula promised.

"You have mah support too B-Fly," Pony Head cheered. "I'll show him a thing or two for stealing mah medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace!"

"Same here Star," Jackie smiled. "I'll help with stopping Ludo from universal conquest, get my seashell necklace back and make a certain Latino _safe kid_ karate boy proud of me and give me _another_ kiss on the mouth.

She winked at Marco, getting him to smile and utter thanks to her while blushing.

"Not to worry Star, I won't let you down," Daron grinned. "I will do this to impress you and show you that I have grown up and I'm becoming more like you, so you won't be disappointed in me either!"

Star was smiling at them as she knew Marco and Andrew had her back too.

"Thank you guys, this is all I wanted was your support in stopping Ludo," Star held her dimension scissors up in the air. "Now we should go and rest, we have an air fleet to catch tomorrow!"

Janna, Pony Head and Buff Frog took out their dimension scissors as four dimension portal were cut open at the same time. All twelve of them made some cheering sounds to show how they will show that Ludo just who he's messing with. They then started to head to the respective dimension holes.

"Good luck Marco," Jackie wished her man good luck. "I hope you'll do well tomorrow."

"Good luck too, Jackie," Marco smiled and did the same. "And I hope you'll do well tomorrow too."

Others let out similar comments along that line. Two unique comments came from Archibald and Tom.

"You know, it's amazing how people can easily listen to her," Archibald remarked. "She's pretty inspiring for a rebel princess."

"I know," Tom smiled. "And that's what I _like_ about Starship."

Once the twelve heroes entered the four respective portals, each of them vanished as they were going to storm the air fleet first thing tomorrow, for their final destination…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 18!**

**I THINK THIS CHAPTER CAME OUT EXCELLENT TOO! I LOVE THE INTERACTIONS FROM THE OTHER TEAMS! I LIKE HAVING ONE PERSON FROM EACH TEAM TEAMUP TOGETHER IN FIGHTING MONSTERS, AND I LIKE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN MARCO AND JACKIE! I THINK THIS IS ANOTHER FAVORITE CHAPTER OF MINE! **

**YEAH, THIS WAS A LOT OF FUN TO WRITE IN SPITE OF THE MASSIVE LENGTH OF THIS BOSS CHAPTER! BUT IT WAS WORTH IT WHEN I WROTE IT THE WAY I DID! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT TOO!**

**NOW IF YOU LIKE, YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW FOR THIS CHAPTER AND WAIT FOR NEXT TIME! **


	20. Sky Dimension I

**CHAPTER 19-SKY DIMENSION I:**

* * *

It was the next morning in the sky dimension; the day of which Ludo begins his attack on the universe. The sky dimension was simply just a big blue sky with no footing below, aside from the mass amount of white clouds that were lingering around. However, one thing that did stand out in this dimension was the mass fleet of Ludo's battleships that had entered the dimension. All four teams were on different battleships, destined to reach the same person; the real Ludo. Ludo's voice was heard as he was aware that the heroes made it onto his battleships.

"_Ha ha ha ha ha, you fools must all have a death wish," _Ludo's voice was heard on the intercom that spread through all of the airships. _"Witness these invincible battleships, founded by the hands of a ruler! Its power is UNMATCHED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!"_

The heroes overheard that and were destined with reaching Ludo's main flagship. Whatever it takes, even if it takes until the end of the day, they _will _put a stop to Ludo's plan for different reasons. Each team was shown one by one on each of the battleship.

"Once vee start job, vee finish job," Buff Frog declared on one battleship, with Tom and Archibald by his side. "That's our _true_ policy; vee are Team Demonstrix!"

"Alright then Ludo, if you want to pick a fight with us, then you're about to get one," Daron motioned both Pony Head and Jackie to follow her on another battleship. "Come on girls! Let's take down that short thieving buffoon of a crow!"

Neither of them opposed since they also wanted to give Ludo a piece of their mind.

"I swear, you _will _regret this Ludo," Nebula growled, getting Janna and Upsilon to follow her, on a separate battleship. "Even if my memories _aren't _real, I'm still the Ultimate Life Form: Nebula Dragonfly!"

And then there was Team Star, who was on a fourth battleship separate from the other heroes, as Star could only say these words.

"Alright now Ludo, let's get this party started," she growled before she got Marco and Andrew to follow her as they also storm through the fleet of bird shaped ships to stop Ludo once and for all…

* * *

"Alright, I'm sure you overheard us on our true job policy," Buff Frog was speaking into the talkie while he was grinding down the rails with Tom and Archibald along his side. "So let's finish job by you telling us vat vee need to do next."

"Of course, your next mission, which if we're lucky will be your second to last," the client sounded as if he was on the edge of victory. "You boys have to infiltrate the Eagle Falcon flagship that is running the armada! And you have to make sure _not_ to get caught by the monsters!"

Without another word, the client hung up as Tom looked slightly irritated.

"That's our second to last mission; get by this flock of bird shaped ships without being caught by monsters," Tom also sounded a little disappointed. "I thought that we would be doing some more sabotaging or something along that line…"

"Maybe vee are getting to that," Buff Frog shrugged. They landed on a nearby battleship and took cover to avoid being spotted. 'Maybe flagship vee gotta get to is Ludo's main hideout that's operating this fleet, and if vee hit him where it hurts, then perhaps whole armada vill tumble."

"I guess that makes sense," Tom decided to go with that. "But we'll just have to find out for ourselves once we get there."

"Yeah, let's get by these ships and get to where we need to get to," Archibald insisted.

Buff Frog nodded as Tom and Archibald got onto his shoulders. The frog monster then did his job by using his training in the espionage to get by without being caught by the monsters…

* * *

Team Sparkle was already prepared for what was in store for them this morning. There were plenty of missiles being fired at them from different ships, but they got out of the way. Daron also noticed just how high they were and that the dimension they're in is mainly sky and nothing else.

"Yeah girls, it looks like we've gotten way over our heads this time around," Daron called as they jumped to a set of rails.

"That may be true, but _this_ is where the medallion and seashell necklace we're looking for are located," Pony Head reminded.

"I sure hope so," Jackie agreed. "This is probably the last place that they could be."

"Yah gurl, and if they're not here, then they may be gone forever," Pony Head sighed and shook her head.

"Now don't worry you two, I took you on this journey to find your stuff and I'm sticking to it until the _bitter end_," Daron promised. "Besides, Star is counting on us to take down Ludo once and for all, and we can't disappoint her either. I know that once we finally show Ludo who we are and take him out once and for all, we'll finally get your stuff back."

"Yeah, I trust you gurl," Pony Head smiled. "We did promise B-Fly that, and Ludo has pushed our buttons for the last time."

"Exactly, so we can do this, girls," Daron seemed confident.

"I trust you too, Daron," said Jackie, grinding down the rails with them.

_It's strange; I never lost my seashell necklace like this before. _The skateboarder chick thought to herself. _I mean no one ever seemed interested in my seashell necklace which is my family heirloom, so I'm very upset that Ludo would want to take it."_

Keeping that thought quiet for now, Jackie with Daron and Pony Head headed through the fleet of bird-like ships to head to Ludo's main flagship…

* * *

Team Dread was soaring through the sky too as they got off the battleship they were standing on. Janna noticed how there was nothing below them but clouds and more clouds. This was definitely a bizarre dimension.

"Wow guys, we are _definitely _flying very high," Janna looked down and remarked. "This dimension is nothing by sky and clouds! I wouldn't be surprised if we managed to make it into the space dimension next."

This got Nebula's attention as the name 'Space Dimension' sounded eerily familiar to her, but she just didn't know from where. The name caused her to mentally click.

"Wuh, S-Space Dimension, did…did you say Space Dimension Janna?" Nebula had to double check to make sure what Janna said was correct.

"Yeah, why, did something spark in your memory," Janna wondered as the three of them landed on some rails. Nebula just looked bewildered and rubbed her temple.

"Uh, I feel that it's supposed to," Nebula struggled. "But it's not, and neither is the other stuff you told me either…"

"Oh…It's alright," Janna felt choked up by that, following right behind Nebula. "Either the memories will come back on their own, or…or…"

"There's nothing to come back," Nebula finished gravely. "And that I might as well be another Nebula Android..."

Janna sighed in defeat. It just didn't make any sense. If the Nebula that was with them was an android too, then why was this Nebula kept in a top-secret closet in Ludo's castle instead of in a group of capsules with the rest of the Nebula Androids? Not only that, but the real Nebula would have been needed as a model for the other androids. Janna refused to give up, as she felt Ludo is probably messing with her for sick kicks, and won't answer any important questions just to rub salt on the wound. That was all the more likely reason that they had to take down Ludo.

Without another word, the dreadful team stormed through the fleet of ships to get to Ludo…

* * *

Prior to jumping off the ship, Andrew had to make sure to tighten the hat on his head so it won't fall off. Since this was the sky dimension, it would be easy to lose it to the point where it'll never be recovered. That hat is Andrew's personal prize that means a lot to him, aside from the Ruler Gemstone of course. He was soaring through the air along with Star and Marco and they got a look at some of the battleships below them.

"Hey Star and Andrew, right below us is an odd battleship that's shaped like a flamingo!"

"Marco, we are flying through a sky dimension with no landing area below us, and you're thinking about a flamingo-shaped battleship?"

"I'm just trying not to think of falling," the Latino gulped. "I'm the only one who can't fly Andrew."

They had landed on a set of rails that they proceeded to grind down on. They were heading to the first battleship that they hoped on decimating.

"Ah come on you two," Star scoffed. "This area is nothing, so let's keep moving!"

"Nah," Andrew replied, throwing his hands up above him. "How about we _stick_ around and enjoy the view around us?"

"Just remember," Marco had to remind them. "We _only _have to take out the flagship that Ludo is controlling in order to take down the armada. I just hope that the other teams will be on the safe ground before they plummet to their deaths when the air fleet is taken down."

"So what does that mean, a ton of battleships will careen down and explode into nothingness in this dimension," Andrew seemed a little shocked by that implication. "There's definitely something wrong with that…"

"You got a better idea, Andrew," Star dared to ask.

"Well, no…but I-!"

"Then there you go," Star said quickly.

"Just like Marco said, we have to make sure the other teams aren't in danger when this air fleet goes crashing down," Andrew warned. "We don't want our pals to be killed when we take down this massive fleet of ships!"

Star didn't pay attention to him. Instead, she observed all the bird-shaped ships around her and saw just how many of them there were.

"Well what do you know, these airships look like a literal 'flock' of birds migrating through the air," Star admired. "At least Ludo got creative with how he set things up this time."

"As admiring as it may be Star, we don't have time to gander at all the airships," Marco insisted.

"He's right, we need to be on track and bring these ships down," Andrew agreed. "Without bringing our friends down with them of course…"

"Of course, I was just scoping out to see what we're up against," Star directed them to all the battleships in front of them. "And from what I'm seeing, we're in for a lot of ships to get by."

With the comment made, Star took Marco and Andrew as the three of them headed through the fleet of ships to finally save the universe from Ludo's wrath…

* * *

The Demonstrix crew were surprisingly alone on the battleship that they were on. The battleship, in particular, was shaped like a giant crow. Tom was slightly amazed by what he saw while Buff Frog observed throughout the ship so there weren't any monsters lurking around. By contrast, Archibald was pretty bored.

"Ugh, this is lame," he cried out in a voice that pierced through the silence. "Hey monsters, come out where ever you are!"

"Hush," Buff Frog clamped his mouth shut. "Vee have to get by flock of ships, not draw in monster's attention. Do you vant our cover to be blown?"

"Don't worry Buff Frog," Tom spoke, while Buff Frog activated a switch that opened the way down into the current ship they were on. They approached the way down. "There aren't any monsters here, and if there are, it's not like we can't just take them out before the word of our arrival gets to the leading flagship and to Ludo."

"Let's not be too careless comrades," Buff Frog huffed as they jumped down.

"We can also try unleashing some attacks from a distance so they can't spot us," Archibald suggested.

"Vee shall see," Buff Frog then went and jumped to a high height to the next battleship with his comrades still on his shoulders. This ship took the shape of a crane bird. After landing with a thud, Buff Frog hides behind the obstacle and peeked over to see if the coast was clear for them.

Once they saw nothing in sight, Buff Frog decided to slowly get away from the obstacle and moved onward.

"Y'know, you have to vonder how Ludo got these ships," Buff Frog muttered.

"The better question would be how he got the funding for all these battleships anyway," Archibald wondered as they went through a large corridor.

"I don't think he had funding for all these ships," said Tom. "For all we know, he probably discovered these battleships somewhere and modeled them after birds to his likeness."

"Yeah, that seems like the most legitimate explanation," Buff Frog nodded.

When they got outside again, they saw just how high they were. They also noticed that Ludo really does have good security on these ships with cannons and such. One has to wonder how he made this possible since he's not the type of person to construct anything like this. Then again, Ludo probably did discover these ships and designed them after birds.

"Okay comrades, vee gotta make sure vee don't fall," warned Buff Frog. "Because if vee do, our goose is cooked."

"Yeah, and this dimension has no landing area below us," Archibald gulped.

"All the reason to keep away from the edge," the demon muttered.

Buff Frog with his comrades steered clear from the edges while also making sure there weren't any monsters in sight. When there wasn't, they continued on through the battleship…

* * *

Daron was feeling the same adrenaline rush that Star felt on her journeys since she was free falling through the air along with Pony Head and Jackie, despite the former actually being able to fly. They saw nothing but clouds below them so it was a good idea not to plummet downwards. Thankfully, they landed on some rails which they used to grind and get across the area.

"I can't believe we're in a sky dimension," Daron winced.

"Yeah, there's nothing but clouds below us," Pony Head commented. "We better not fall off."

"Unless of course, you all want to go skydiving," Jackie added.

"Uh, no Jackie, that's completely out of the question," Daron quickly said.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be a good idea anyway, not in this dimension," Jackie understood where she was going.

"Uh huh," Daron focused on grinding on the rails with her partners until they landed on a battleship. This battleship was shaped like a duck. Daron was focused less on the designs and more about how Ludo gained possession of these battleships, to begin with. It was possible that it wasn't any different than finding a missile that he wanted to use to destroy Echo Creek.

Daron was walking with Pony Head and Jackie that she wasn't aware of the cannons aiming for them with the target markers under their feet.

"Look out, the cannons are aiming for us," the skateboarder chick was the one to say that. "We have to watch out for the target markers in front of us!"

"Huh," Daron snapped to and saw a target marker right under her foot as well as two cannons; one was about to fire at her. This got her to react as she jumped out of the way before she got shot. Not only were there two cannons, but there were three Craw monsters as well.

Seeing the danger they had entered, Pony Head took action and blasted one of the cannons with the magic from her horn. Meanwhile, Daron then hit one of the craw monsters on the head with her fake wand before Jackie went and karate chopped the second one before tossing it onto the third one. This knocked the three craw monsters out, but they still had the one remaining cannon to worry about.

"Hey gurls, the other cannon is going to shoot in your directions," the floating unicorn head hollered.

"Huh," both of them saw the remaining cannon aiming its target marker right below them and it was prepared to fire away.

Fortunately, before they got caught in the crosshair, Pony Head went behind it and zapped it down to bits with her horn.

"Wow, nice save there Pony Head," Daron praised.

"Thanks," Pony Head thanked them.

Daron then felt a little dejected before frowning. "I should have been wary of what was in front of me…"

"Aw, it's no worries gurl," Pony Head didn't seem too upset. "I've made plenty of slipups worse than that."

"Really, and what were the slipups like," Daron had to ask.

Pony Head was started to float off but came to a halt once she was asked that. She slowly turned to face Daron and her ears were drooped down.

"Well, the slipups were primarily because of me," Pony Head shamefully admitted. "You see, prior to this adventure, I have been nothing but selfish, arrogant, self-centered and a narcissist to everyone. I acted like everything in the universe revolves around me. But then I lost my medallion, and I ended up starting a team with you two. After a while of traveling with you gurls, I have figured that I've been nothing but mean to my friends and that I've learned that not everything in the universe can revolve around me and my interests."

Pony Head then delivered a small smile to her teammates.

"With that being said, I've especially learned that as a team, I have to look out for you gurls and that you gurls have to come first, no matter what…"

"It would seem that this adventure has been changing you Pony Head," Daron remarked. "And it's probably for the _better _too."

"Yeah, I'm glad that I've been on this journey too," Jackie sounded very laidback when she made that comment.

"I agree," Pony Head smiled once again. "Now what do you say we continue on from these fleet ships."

Daron and Jackie nodded as they continued through the armada of bird-shaped ships that were all around them…

* * *

Team Dread was now descending at an alarming pace, thanks to the rail that they were grinding on. They were used to the wind blowing at them from grinding on the rails, but because they were in the sky dimension, the feeling was much different. It had much more pressure on it. Janna was deterred by this as she had to keep her beanie from falling off her head. Nebula was seemingly indifferent to it, however, while Upsilon never had such an opinion on the topic anyway. Upsilon was also focused on something vastly different.

"Must annihilate all Ludo's minions," he boomed, jumping off the rail and heading down to the ship below while locking onto the craw monsters below. The ship that he was heading for took the shape of a giant raven. Nebula grabbed Janna and flew her down afterwards while veering to the left while at it.

"Whoa, what was that for," Janna asked, disliking that feeling. Nebula just pointed to the cannon that had blasted its ammo where they were once flying. Upsilon was off to the side, launching at missiles at any incoming monsters as well as trying to take out the cannons.

"Look, we gotta keep away from those cannons," Nebula explained as she set her Filipino partner to the ground.

"I see, well if we stay away from the target markers, we should be alright." Janna seemed to have understood this.

"Not a problem," Nebula then dashed off to join the fray with Upsilon and taking out all the craw monsters. Janna decided to give this one a break and let them do what they have to do. As always, all the craw monsters were disposed of before they vanished, with Nebula walking away while Upsilon was on the search for more monsters to wipe out.

When Janna caught up, Nebula grabbed a hold of her again and flew her up to the upper part of the battleship, with Upsilon hovering after them. When they got to the top, Nebula saw a rail and flew over, got Janna to grind on it before grinding on the rail herself, with Upsilon joining them immediately afterwards, once he shot down another monster.

"Wow, so this is Ludo's armada," Nebula trailed, as she saw all the bird-shaped fleet ships around them. "I must say, that this is a magnificent sight."

"But why does he need so many," Janna rubbed her chin. "To me, this fleet of ships can be compared to a flock of birds."

"Regardless, total destruction for all of Ludo's ships!" Upsilon declared an assault on all the battleships.

"No Upsilon," Nebula interrupted. "We only need to destroy one ship; the flagship that Ludo's hiding out in where he is possibly in control of this armada from."

"Not to mention some of the other teams are exploring these ships," Janna shivered. "And we don't want to kill them off."

"I suppose that's a good point," Nebula sighed. "Isn't that clear Upsilon?"

"Affirmative," despite how disappointed the robot was in not being able to destroy all the ships, Upsilon oblige as they continued through the fleet of ships…

* * *

"It's probably a shame that I'm having too much fun," chimed Star, who was riding the loops at such an incredible pace. "But I'm too high on adrenaline to care, woohoo!"

"Don't let this air get to your head Star," Andrew warned her. "Get too careless and you could be falling off one of these ships!"

"Not a problem, I can just fly myself back to safety," Star dismissed.

"Not at this height, there's no ground below us," he reminded.

Star ends up sticking her tongue out at him, which he shrugs off. The three of them landed on the deck of a ship below this; this ship took the shape of a goose. They encountered some Craw monsters right in front of them, who were charging at them with weapons. Thankfully, Star was ready for this as she got out her wand and unleashed a Hurricane Force Wind on the craw monsters. The blast was so powerful, it sent the craw monsters off the ship.

"Yeah, I bet you'd hate to fall from this height Star," Andrew eyed one of the craw monsters plummeting through the sky.

"Oh hush it, Andrew," Star countered. "You don't know what you're implying."

Before Andrew could make a retort, Marco was heard screaming as he then ducked and cover from a pink laser that was being fired at them. Star and Andrew followed and ducked out of the away right next to their Latino partner.

"Are you two alright," he was concerned about them.

"Yes, but where did that pink laser come from," asked Star.

"I want to find that out too," Andrew stomped off to see what did that with Star and Marco following him.

The source behind the pink laser was now staring them in the face. It was a new type of monster, but it looked vastly different from the others. For starters, it was a Falcon jet fighter type of monster that was of the red and yellow color scheme. If that wasn't freaky enough, this monster was also humanoid in figure and it was able to shoot that pink laser with its hands. Team Star was looking at a rather dangerous monster.

"Uh guys, I've never seen this kind of monster before," Star was confused.

"Well, this monster looks more challenging," Andrew cocked his fists. "No matter, any of Ludo's minions can't be good."

"There's always Upsilon," Star said aloud while Andrew was drilling right for the monster. Marco grew wide-eyed at what Andrew was going to do.

"Stop, Andrew, that's a new type of monster," he yelled frantically. "We don't know what that monster is capable of! Drilling yourself right into it may not be a-"

He didn't get to finish as Andrew collided head first with the monster's shield, causing him to collapse onto the ground with a splitting headache. The monster went and grabbed Andrew as it was charging up another pink laser.

Before it could, however, Star fired a Rainbow Blast in the monster's direction, getting it to recoil and be caught off guard long enough for Marco to jump in and karate chop the arm that Andrew was being held in. The monster fired a shot from its arm, causing the three of them to get out of range before they were blasted. Once that was done, Star started firing Rainbow Fist Punches at the monster that was now clearly angry and wanting to blast them down.

"Wow, looks like your temper is as bad as Andrew's," Star teased.

"Say what," Andrew groaned with a splitting headache. He looked up and saw Marco, who had his arms crossed as he shook his head.

"Andrew, I told you not to just go drilling yourself into the monster, and look what happened," Marco expressed disapproval. "You literally _drilled_ right into the shield and got yourself a headache."

"Ugh, forget it," Andrew grunted as he glanced at the monster that Star was taking care of and holding off. "Just how are we supposed to take out _this_ kind of monster anyway?"

"Well," Marco looked thoughtfully. "We could always rip the shield out of its possession before dishing out a full frontal attack-"

"YAHOO, MEGA NARWHAL BLAST!"

This got Marco and Andrew to gape as they saw the Mewni Princess fire a Mega Narwhal Blast at the monster's hidden head. The monster was blasted down where it then got dismantled to pieces before vanishing like all the other monsters. Star turned around and motioned her team to follow her as she cleared the way for them.

"…or Star, we can just use Star and have her use her Mega Narwhal Blasts…" Marco found himself saying.

"Oh, of course," Andrew groaned as he followed his partners through the battleship, wondering what other deadly new monsters they'll run into…

* * *

"Vow, how could vee have gotten at such a height," Buff Frog looked at how they were traveling. Tom and Archibald were still on his shoulders and they haven't gotten caught by any monsters yet. Currently, they were grinding down a rail. The rail led them to a penguin-shaped airship, as clouds moved by them. Archibald's pupil shrank at the sight before him as his eyes were visibly rolling in circles.

"Flying at this height in any dimension makes me dizzy." He complained.

"You're a gargoyle," Tom pointed out. "You should be used to flying, aren't you?"

"Yes, but when was the last time you heard about a gargoyle flying in a sky dimension with no ground in sight; in the air with a bunch of battleships around them, huh?" Archibald countered.

"Yeah, you seem to have a point," the demon mused. "I would have to look at a history book that contains a list of gargoyles that flew in a sky dimension such as _this_."

Buff Frog decided to disregard this as he continued to get by without being spotted. So far so good as it seems since they haven't allowed themselves to be spotted yet. They got by some cannons and got over some gaps, but no monsters have detected them at all.

Buff Frog with his comrades landed on some rails shortly after. They then took a good look at all the battleships around them. They really did resemble a flock of migrating birds. The type of birds they saw included peacocks, ostriches, emus, pelicans, toucans, parrots, and even smaller birds like seagulls and pigeons. It was definitely a sight to see.

"Wow, there's so many of these ships flying by," mused Tom. "This is definitely Ludo's armada."

"Yes, it's an armada, an armada!" Archibald cried.

"All these ships are run by monsters," Buff Frog proclaimed. "I guess Ludo must get pretty lonely."

"The path to evil tends to be a lonely one," Tom said.

"I should know," Buff Frog sighed. "I use to _vork_ for Ludo after all."

"I still don't get it," Archibald exaggerated. "I thought Ludo had given up on evil five months ago and retired! I also thought that he turned over a new leaf and became good! So what happened that caused him to resort to being evil again!?"

"Vell, if all Ludos we faced previously vere fake," Buff Frog came to a possible theory. "Then it's possible that scheme might not be of Ludo, but of some unknown source that vee haven't discovered yet."

"That's not a bad theory, but if this _isn't_ Ludo behind this, then who is responsible," Tom wanted to know.

"You don't think Toffee is behind all of this, don't you guys?" Archibald found himself asking.

Buff Frog took that in and shook his head.

"Nah, that's impossible," he dismissed. "Toffee vas killed off a vhile ago. I saw it with my own two eyes vhen Star restored all magic in the universe, and she vent super and blasted Toffee vith all the magic she stored. Then vhen Toffee vas reduced to talking sludge monster, Ludo himself knocked a pillar on top of him and killed him off for good."

"Yeah I have to agree with Buff Frog," Tom sided with the frog monster. "I remember Starship talking to me about it sometime after that happened, so that leaves Toffee out of the question."

"I guess so," Archibald didn't argue with that. "But if it isn't Toffee, then who is it?"

"Well, we'll just have to find out for ourselves once we get to flagship," Buff Frog said as they got onto the deck of another battleship. "Let's continue onward…"

Tom and Archibald didn't oppose that as the three of them continued through the air fleet without being caught by any monsters…

* * *

After some more traveling, including using a big balloon to get by a giant running fan, Team Sparkle had ended up on the upper part of an airship; this one took the shape of a giant swan. They then ended up encountering some more cannons, and they knew that they had to be careful of those. Still, one of them felt like reminding the others in case they had forgotten.

"Guys remember, the target markers that those cannons make are where they are aiming," this came from Jackie.

"We haven't forgotten," Daron sighed.

Pony Head stepped up and decided to handle the cannons as she fired at them with her magical horn. Once the cannons have been cleared out, Pony Head motioned her team to follow her, which they did. Once they got to the end of the battleship, Pony Head then carried Daron and Jackie up to the next battleship above them. This one actually resembled a giant white dove, as they thought this ship would be safe to navigate through.

Sad to say, it was anything but safe.

Once they landed on the deck of the ship, they had to duck under a pink laser that was coming from the same falcon jet fighter monster that Team Star had to deal with. The monster was advancing on them, as they never entered this kind of monster before.

"Uh…Pony Head and Jackie, what kind of monster is that?" Daron stuttered.

The monster then shot another pink laser from its arms, getting them to move out of the way.

"Gurls, we have a problem," Pony Head felt fear building up. "This guy is totally mad and insane, and powerful!"

"I have to agree, we never faced something this tough before," Jackie tried to remain cool despite the tension that was building up. "What are we suppose to do?"

"But what's worse is that monster has a shield," cried Daron, as she took out her fake wand. "I'll have to handle this directly!"

"Oh Daron my gurl, try to be careful," Pony Head was concerned. "That monster is dangerous."

Daron nodded as she charged for the monster with the fake wand in her hand. She smashed it right into the shield, which left a couple of dents in it. Despite this, she was unable to make contact with the monster itself. Pony Head was growling at how this menace was giving Daron a hard time, so she flew over and zapped the monster with a blast from her horn. It hardly did a thing thanks to its shield, but this was made as a distraction long enough for Jackie to get behind the monster and karate chop it right in the back. That blow was strong enough to cause the monster to careen forward. Daron then smack the shield away from its arms and sent it over the edge of the battleship. Pony Head delivered the final blow by zapping one more laser at this monster, causing it to be defeated by crumbling into several pieces before vanishing.

All three of them were panting at how they handled that creep.

"Whew, I never thought we'd have to face something so challenging," Daron huffed.

"Yeah, tell me about it gurl," Pony Head groaned. "That monster was brand new; one that we never faced before."

"Well, I'm glad that it's all over for now dudettes," Jackie panted as she sounded relieved.

"Me too Jackie," Daron wiped her forehead. "Shall we continue onward girls?"

"Uh huh," both of them nodded.

They then went onward through this fleet of battleships after having taken out a new challenging monster together…

* * *

Nebula was now soaring through the air after having gotten off of one of the battleships with Janna and Upsilon right beside her. As they were doing that, Nebula glowered past the battleships below them and noticed the sky underneath.

"Wow, this feels all too familiar," Nebula uttered quietly. "I feel like I've done something like this before…"

They ended up on some rails which they rode on until they brought them to the deck of the next ship. The ship that they were on now took the shape of a giant owl.

Sadly, as soon as they got their footing back, two of the same new monsters that Team Star and Team Sparkle faced had ambushed them and were guarding the door right behind them, leading to the rest of the deck. Nebula grunted at the sight of them as she tried firing Dark Purple Lightning Spears at them. Unfortunately, they ricocheted off the shields they were holding, rendering the attack useless. Nebula landed on the ground while growling. She had to come up with a new strategy…because apparently, Upsilon's strategy wasn't working.

"Exterminate and destroy: Fire. Fire," the killer robot blared, trying his hardest to blast those new monsters down. Janna had to tell Upsilon many times that his technique won't work on the new monsters, but Upsilon kept firing away. Janna gave up on Upsilon and turned to face Nebula.

"You got a game plan Nebula?"

Nebula nodded in Janna's direction. "Hopefully it'll be more effective than Upsilon's plan."

"My sensors have picked up that morsel of information; I hope to inform you…"

Nebula brushed that off as she continued.

"Anyway, I need you to distract them long enough for me to get a strike on them so they can't block, just like you did to those wizard monsters back in the spooky dimension."

Janna smirked upon hearing that. "You don't even need to ask me to help you twice."

Janna got straight to work by getting behind the monsters. While Upsilon kept firing at their shields, the monsters paid no attention to him. But once Janna started jeering about how they are knuckleheads and how bad their aim is, as well as blowing a raspberry or two at them, the two monsters focused their attention on her from behind, turning around to face her.

While they were distracted, Nebula got out her wand and unleashed a Dark Purple Fist Punch on both of their heads, getting their heads to spiral as they were dizzy, getting Upsilon to cease fire. Seeing this as an opportunity, Janna then bashed their heads multiple times with her hairdryer until they were defeated. They crumbled into pieces as they vanished shortly after.

"Alright, thanks for that Janna," Nebula was genuine with the Filipino.

"Anytime Nebula," Janna winked at her. "How about we continue on after how we defeated those monsters."

Nebula nodded as she followed along with Upsilon. Upsilon was heard muttering 'it would have worked eventually' while he followed his partners to the far ends of the battleship they were on…

* * *

"Alright guys, are you ready for some parasailing," Star asked daringly while kicking the door open and pointing to a silver propeller. Andrew grimaced at the sight of this.

"Ugh, as long as it ain't a repeat of the whole jungle escapee," Andrew narrowed his eyes as Star shrugged her shoulders.

Star then grabbed it with Marco and Andrew grabbing hold of Star before they started flying off. The huge gust of wind that was occurring helped them to get by.

"I wonder what all of those things are for," Andrew gestured to a bunch of yellow and black striped metal bars that were floating with no purpose.

"I honestly wish I knew myself," Marco murmured. "I have no idea why those things are there."

"I think I know _why _they're there," Star excerpted.

It was then several bullets went flying in their direction, triggering Marco and Andrew to scream hysterically.

"They're firing at us," Andrew yelped. "We gotta dodge the bullets by moving up or down!"

"Yes, thank you for that memo _Andrew_," Star retorted as she had to steer clear of the incoming bullets. Andrew felt like teasing Star by constantly saying 'here it comes, move down' and 'let's go up' depending on the situation, much to the chagrin of the Mewni princess. She stayed quiet though as she guided their way by.

Eventually, it came to an end as they jumped off the propeller and landed right on the deck of a huge hawk-shaped battleship.

"Alright, we handled that," Andrew huffed. "I'm glad that's over."

"Don't be so relieved just yet," Star pointed to the line of cannons on both sides which were firing in both directions, as well as a bunch of bat monsters swooping down along the deck.

Fortunately, Star took the easy way out and grabbed the hands of both her partners and flew by quickly, dodging all the bullets and bat monsters with no sweat. But now they were heading right for the one thing they weren't expecting.

"Andrew, do you think you can punch down the cannon for us," the karate expert suggested.

"I'm all over it," Andrew broke out of Star's grip and headed for the cannon and drilled right into it and turned it into smithereens. "In case you didn't notice, I've taken on several things tougher than that."

Star just rolled her eyes at that as she then motioned Marco and Andrew to follow her some more throughout the battleship they were on. Team Star was pushing their way through these battleships and they were planning on heading to the main flagship running this armada, where the big prize was waiting for them at…

* * *

Archibald had just touched another gargoyle statue at the insistence of his teammates. The statue then engulfed the detective agents into a bright light and would teleport them to where they need to get to…or so they hoped. They were teleported to another ship that took the shape of an albatross, and the area they were sent to be was surrounded by lasers, traps, gun turrets, cannons, and monsters.

"Whoa, so this is where all the action is taking place," Archibald gaped.

"Vee better keep outta sight," Buff Frog decided to get them by without being spotted.

The frog monster jumped from platform to platform with his partners still on his shoulders. To each monster they passed was taken out by Tom's fireballs or Archibald's acid without being caught.

The three of them got back without being spotted, ramming through several glass windows and taking out more monsters while going unnoticed. It seemed that the Demonstrix had this mission in the bag and they were one step closer to completing the job once and for all.

Sad to say, they had encountered a problem of their own.

They made it to a door that was being guarded by a monster. But this wasn't just an ordinary monster. This was the same new challenging monster that the three other teams have already faced. The Demonstrix had to fend off this newcomer without being spotted, so Buff Frog jumped up to a high pillar above where this challenging monster can't see them.

"Oh my, what kind of monster is that," Archibald whispered in shock.

"I dunno," Buff Frog muttered softly. "I'm villing to guess that it has been recently brought into Ludo's army. That monster looks challenging."

"And it's blocking the door," Tom said. "We got to get rid of it and not be spotted."

Buff Frog was coming up with a plan to get rid of the monster without being detected. It was then he came up with something and it seemed like the legit way of handling it.

"I've gotta plan," Buff Frog announced. "Tom, you can distract it by using that flame wheel thing and make its head spin. Then I will use tongue to grab hold of that shield and dispose of it. And then we'll unleash our attacks from a distance and then vee can finish it from there."

"Well, okay, if that's the plan," Tom went with it. "But I'm going to need total concentration for this."

"Right," Buff Frog nodded.

Tom rose his arms up and started to create a flame wheel. When he did, he pointed his finger to the new monster below, where the flame wheel hit it. Even though it didn't do any damage thanks to the shield, it did leave the Falcon jet fighter monster in a daze with flames spinning above him. With the distraction in place, Buff Frog extracted his tongue, lowered it right to the monster where he then focused on wrapping his tongue right around the shield. When he had a tight grip on it, Buff Frog then pried it off the monster, with Tom and Archibald helping him pull. In an instance, the shield came off and Buff Frog had the shield be sent flying off the edge of the battleship when he retracted the tongue back into his mouth.

Now the monster lost its shield and was wondering who's there. Since it had no way of defending itself anymore, Tom started by throwing a barrage of fireballs at it, leaving behind some burns and chars on it. Archibald then went and spat several spits of acid at the monster, getting it to smoke and melt. Buff Frog then took his chewing prum, blew several bubbles to the monster that got stuck moments later. All the impacts of these attacks caused the new monster to be knocked out cold and into unconsciousness. Buff Frog then finished it off by jumping down and slamming his feet onto the monster. This caused it to crumble into pieces before vanishing.

Upon the door opening, the three of them gave each other a high five.

"Alright, I can't believe we pulled that off," Archibald whooped.

"Yeah, we actually did it," Tom admitted.

"Now, let's go and finish mission up comrades," Buff Frog instructed.

With two nods, the Demonstrix headed through the open door and headed off, about to complete their second to last mission given by their client…

* * *

"Hey, you know what girls," Daron commented as her team was traveling on the deck of a chicken-shaped ship. "I think we've made some excellent progress on this adventure since we started. I've been able to fend for myself without Star having to come and rescue me from my captor."

"Yeah gurl," said Pony Head. "This trip has gotten me to soften up a bit and it taught me to be nicer to my friends."

"Yeah, I'm glad that I've been able to travel on this adventure too," Jackie smiled. "I've never traveled through several different dimensions before, and this is my very first time."

"Uh huh, and to think all this started because of a simple newspaper," Daron admitted. "If you girls haven't had told me about that medallion and the necklace, I wouldn't have known that you had stuff that went missing, I wouldn't have been able to find Star, and we wouldn't have gone on this adventure."

"Yeah," Jackie then started to think as Daron was curious about this.

"What's on your mind, Jackie?"

"Well, it's about the picture and the whole reason why we're here," Jackie started. "I had talked to Marco in the city dimension and he agrees with Star that she doesn't have my seashell necklace heirloom or Pony Head's medallion. Marco also told me that it was likely that someone else stole them and framed Star, and his theory was proven last night when Ludo straight up admitted to taking our stuff."

"But that's what has me confused," Daron shook her head, showing the picture from the newspaper again. "Ludo had been gone for as long as Star was, and unless Ludo had gotten some useful photo-editing technology, there's no way he could have framed Star so efficiently, even though he was the type of person to do something so devious."

"Uh, perhaps someone framed Ludo who framed Star," Pony Head took a guess. "I'm not sure entirely."

"It also doesn't help that all the Ludos we ran into on this quest were all fakes as we found out in the canyon dimension," Jackie brought up.

"Well, if the Ludos we ran into were fakes, it might be possible that Ludo isn't the ringleader in this evil plot after all," Daron determined. "Someone else is plotting this in the shadows!"

"But if it isn't Ludo, then who could it be gurl?" Pony Head scrunched her face.

"Do you girls think that maybe this Toffee might have come back from the dead and come back for revenge by plotting everything that has happened," Jackie guessed. "I only learned about Toffee because Marco told me about it."

"Impossible," Pony Head shook. "Toffee was killed off when B-Fly restored all the magic in the universe and fired the magic in her super form, before the real Ludo slammed a pillar on the remains of Toffee, bringing him to death. I found out from B-Fly when she told me."

"Yeah, Star did tell me about the mishap of Toffee too," Daron pocketed the newspaper and started to think. "Honestly, unless there's a way to resurrect him from the dead that would be in Janna's department, there's no way Toffee could be behind this."

"Well, who else could there be," Jackie was still confused.

"Uh, how about Meteora?" Daron made a guess herself.

"Pffft, please gurl," Pony Head brushed. "B-Fly had taken care of Meteora 9 months ago after everything that had happened."

"Meteora?" Jackie didn't recognize that name.

"Long story short, she was once Ms. Heinous who was aiming to claim the throne to Butterfly Castle, but B-Fly put a stop to that and put her in her place." Pony Head said pretty quickly.

"Yeah," Daron nodded. "So that marks _off_ Meteora too."

"And that means anyone could be plotting this and using Ludo as a cover up for it," Pony Head sighed as they kept walking.

"Honestly dudettes, it doesn't matter who has taken them," Jackie kept herself calm. "Just as long as we finally retrieve our stuff back…"

"No doubt gurl," Pony Head agreed.

"Let's keep going," Daron motioned them to continue following her as they went through the battleship that they were standing on currently…

* * *

"The only way by here is to acquire one of Nebula's speed boost spells from her wand."

"Upsilon, I don't remember ever using a speed boost spell before," Nebula barked as a conveyor belt was in front of them.

"Well there's only one way to find out," Janna sighed as Nebula took out her wand.

"You two better hang onto me," she instructed. "Because this is going to be fast, so get ready."

Both Janna and Upsilon grabbed a hold of Nebula as she spun it around in hopes of doing a speed boost spell.

In a matter of seconds though, she pulled it off as she speeds boost through the conveyor belt and broke right through it. This caused the loon-shaped battleship to explode as they were sent careening out of it as they saw the explosion for themselves. Of course, this impressed Upsilon as he was bound for the destruction of all things related to Ludo.

"I wonder where those pieces of debris will end up," Janna wondered. "I'm just glad none of the other teams were on that ship."

"Regardless, that's one blow against that Avarian's armada." Nebula smirked.

"Humor remains undetected," Upsilon deadpanned like the robot he is.

They landed on a couple of rails and started to grind down. They then used a big balloon they found just to get by a whole range of huge fans running down below them. Upsilon wanted to blow up more ships while Nebula only wanted to go after the flagship. Janna, on the other hand, wanted two things; for Ludo to be brought to justice and to get her hands on that secret artifact.

After taking the balloon, they found themselves surrounded by a bunch of cannons. Upsilon fired his own missiles against them, Nebula shot some Dark Purple Lightning Spears at them, and even Janna got in on the fun when she slammed her hairdryer into one of the cannons.

"That'll show them," Janna growled, destroying the cannon.

They then encountered the same propeller that Team Star had used. Feeling that they need it to get by, they grabbed it and the three of them hung on while steering it through the wind. Of course, they had to dodge incoming bullets being fired at them, but that's also what Team Star did as well. They then came to a course at another giant battleship; this one shaped like an eagle.

"Want to take down another battleship," Nebula dared to ask.

"Eh, I guess, as long as none of the other teams are on it," Janna shrugged.

"Destroy," Upsilon said to show his approval.

They then landed on the deck of the battleship where they started to trek down the ship. Sadly, right before they could go through the door, two more of the challenging monsters were waiting for them. This time they were glowing pink.

"They're firing at us!" Janna cried as they got out of the way in the nick of time. Once they were done firing away, Nebula snarled and didn't want to deal with this.

"Oh screw this, I'm putting an end to this," Nebula took out her green Miracle Gemstone and showed it to her partners. "Are you two thinking about what _I'm_ thinking?"

"As I ever will," Janna took out her spell book from her backpack.

"Inferno Blaster Activation has been achieved," Upsilon announced.

They were about ready to perform Miracle Dark Inferno Blast on the two challenging monsters.

"Huh, you two aren't the only ones who could fire a pink laser," Nebula scoffed, throwing her gemstone into her wand where it was inserted. "You haven't witnessed our true power!"

With that, Nebula shouted 'Miracle Levitato' while Janna said that spell she likes to use, causing the time to stop and the two new monsters were getting plagued by dark smog which filled their heads with spooky images. Upsilon then fired his inferno blaster which did a significant impact on them. Once the effects of Miracle Levitato lifted, both monsters turned to ashes and were defeated quite quickly. As Upsilon relished this win, Janna put her book away and huffed.

"Whew," Janna wiped her forehead. "How much _longer_ will it take for us to reach the flagship?"

"I dunno," Nebula said honestly. "But we will find it, even if it'll take us all day and night to get there."

"Right," Janna nodded.

And they did just that, they continued on for the remainder of the day to get to the flagship where Ludo is hiding out at…

* * *

The girly team had found the same propeller that Team Star and Team Dread had used previously, and the three of them decided to put that to work. As they did, Daron noticed how all the ships below and above them, as well as all around them, were flying at different altitudes. She just wanted to get to the flagship soon to get the stolen goods back from Ludo, or whoever is behind this.

"Anyway," Daron got the attention of her partners. "Why does Ludo have so many battleships anyway? It's like he wants to start a war on the universe."

"That's because he is," Pony Head commented. "Though based on the amount there is, I'm surprised that he had a lot of free time on his hands to uncover all these fleet ships."

"It's been 5 months to be exact," Jackie said. "I'm also surprised that he has such a fascination with birds with all the bird-shaped ships out in the distance."

"I've noticed that too Jackie," Daron commented. "But that's because he is a bird monster himself."

Jackie nodded as she started to think. Finally, once they founded another fleet ship to land on, Jackie felt like sharing how she feels about her necklace being stolen.

"You know dudettes," Jackie started as they landed. "I never lost my seashell necklace before. It's always been with me ever since I got it on my 12th birthday. I keep it on my neck most of the time, and that one sleepover, I tuck it onto my shorts for safe keeping. But I never had it stolen before and no one seemed interested in it, until now. I just don't get why Ludo would want to do this."

"I know how you feel Jackie and what that necklace means to you since it's your heirloom," Daron assured, as they walked. "But we know Ludo is up to his tricks again and your necklace has mermaid magic which will aid him in his plot. That necklace means so much to you."

"Yes it does," her frown slowly turned into a smile. "And so does Marco…"

"You mean like that big kiss he gave to you on the mouth last night in the spooky dimension?" Daron teased.

"Uh…Uh…Uh…M-Maybe," Jackie felt a blush push on.

"Oh Jackie you can be just as _adorable_ as Marco," Daron giggled. "It's no wonder why you two belong together."

"Yeah, that's true," Jackie giggled at that too. "Besides, our belongings are in the flagship, where we need to head."

"That's right, and that's where Ludo is leading this armada, and I bet the other teams are planning to head there now as we speak, so that means we're going there too."

"You know it," Jackie grinned.

"Uh gurls, I don't know if we'll be able to do that yet," Pony Head directed their attention to another challenge falcon jetfighter monster in front of them. "It looks like this punk didn't get enough the first time."

"You ready for round 2, mister," Daron smirked, getting her fake wand out.

Fortunately, this wasn't hard since they used the same technique they accomplished with the first one. This led to the monster's defeat and allowed them to carry forth.

"Well girls, let's head to the flagship Ludo is hiding in so we can finally put an end to all this nonsense," Daron commanded.

"I'm way ahead of you gurl-friend," Pony Head said.

"I'm ready too, Daron," Jackie was smiling. "And I hope we can meet Marco and the other heroes when we get to Ludo."

"Something tells me that we will," Daron smiled. "Now let's move out!"

The three of them headed for the flagship so they can finally settle this once and for all…

* * *

Team Star had taken out several battleships already while making sure the other teams weren't on them. They weren't thrilled about it as Upsilon was. They did their own thing while taking down cannons, using big balloons to get over huge fans and grinding on rails. They were thinking about this whole thing; all the Ludos they have encountered were fakes. If that's the case, the three of them were left to believe if Ludo really is behind this, or if someone else in the shadows is serving as the true ringleader behind this plot. Despite having theories of whom it could be, similar to those shared by Team Sparkle and the Demonstrix, they decided to drop it so they can finally head to the flagship.

"Hey guys, do any of you see the flagship yet," Star asked as she looked in the distance. Marco had gotten beside her and said.

"Not yet Star, but I bet we're getting close."

"Um, could it possibly be that giant battleship way off in the distance," Andrew was heard.

Star and Marco checked in the direction Andrew was pointing and they indeed saw a giant flagship that took the shape of an eagle and a falcon combined. That had to be their destination.

"Alright Andrew, you've got such a good eye. Looks like we found our destination," Star smirked before looking puzzled. "Now our only problem is how are we going to get there at this rate? Neither Andrew nor I can fly that far."

"And we _all_ know Marco can't fly at all," Andrew muttered.

Marco ended up grimacing at that. Star was glancing in all directions on the ship they were standing on and then she had quite an idea in mind.

"I have an idea, but I need you both to trust me on this one," Star told them. "So hold on _tight _and don't let go."

Knowing that they won't have a choice, Marco and Andrew grabbed Star's hands before she then went into the battleship they were standing on and she headed for a conveyor belt. She then used the Bunny Rabbit Blast on the conveyor belt to propel herself and her teammates through the conveyor belt. They were boosted to the end, and before they knew it, the battleship exploded and it sent Team Star skyrocketing through the air, where they remained soaring with hopes that they'll land towards the flagship in the distance.

"Star, are you sure this is going to work," Andrew made sure his hat wasn't lost as he looked at Star, who looked like she was spreading her arms out like an airplane.

"I'm not, but I'm feeling really confident about this," Star said. "I'm sure we'll make it and show Ludo that we are putting a stop to his plans!"

"I just hope the others won't have to plummet to their deaths once the ships go tumbling down," Marco sounded concerned for the other teams. "They have their own reasons for going after Ludo."

"Which is why we'll likely see the other teams once we get to the flagship," Andrew assured before smirking. "Including that girl you kissed on the mouth with so much passion last night: Jackie Lynn Thomas."

This got Marco to blush as he shook that off.

"Yeah, they have their own stuff, and Jackie and Pony Head are looking for their belongings," Marco brought up. "Which reminds me, Jackie talked to me in the city dimension about their stuff being stolen, and I came up with the assumption that someone might have framed you Star for taking them. This was proven last night when Ludo straight up _admitted_ to taking them."

"I've noticed, and that's the kind of stunt he'd want to pull," Star said. "And we're going to put a stop to his evil scheme once and for all."

"I just hope the teams make it there safely," the karate boy hoped as they were being sent to their destination.

"I hope so too Marco," Star hoped too.

"Same goes for me," Andrew stepped in.

Without anymore words, Team Star continued soaring through the air, with hopes that they'll make it to their final stop along with the other teams…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 19!**

**YEAH, THIS CHAPTER ISN'T AS GOOD AS THE PREVIOUS THREE CHAPTERS, WHICH I CONSIDER TO BE SOME OF MY BEST WRITTEN CHAPTERS, SO I WON'T BE SURPRISED IF THIS CHAPTER ISN'T AS POPULAR!**

**OTHERWISE, YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW FOR THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE, AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER TO COME UP!**


	21. Sky Dimension II

**CHAPTER 20-SKY DIMENSION II:**

* * *

Nighttime fell pretty quickly in the sky dimension; the four teams of heroes had spent the whole day getting by the air fleet ships just to get to the flagship. It was the night where Ludo will unleash his reign on the universe. Fortunately, Team Star made it to the flagship first as the three of them gawked at their surroundings. Not only was it nighttime, but it was also clouded with ominous storm clouds and lightning storms were shown all around them.

The flagship was pretty advanced compared to the rest of the air fleet ships, and the heroes have compared it to an eagle and a falcon. No doubt that it was enormous since it ran the entire armada of air fleet ships. Andrew, in particular, was gaping at the sight that was around him.

_Wow, I never thought Ludo would have gotten such an enormous fleet ship such as this one… _Andrew thought.

Star meanwhile, let out a low whistle and took in her sights.

"Okay guys, this place definitely has to be where Ludo is hiding out at," Star remarked. "I just never thought that Ludo would have made a hideout in something that was so advanced for him."

"Well Star, this is pretty much an airbase." Marco scratched his ears as Andrew was still confused by the sight before him.

"Uh, how does this ship even stay _afloat_," he pondered. "I mean, my island stays afloat in the air thanks to the magical power of the Ruler Gemstone, but I'm at a lost with knowing how this is possible."

Marco took that in as he thought about it before coming to a possible conclusion.

"Well Andrew, I think this airship is being run off of magical energy that Ludo acquired from the previous dimensions we explored," the Latino took a sharp guess.

Andrew was willing to go with that, but there was something more important that they had to take care of.

"I guess it doesn't matter what magical energy is fueling this ship," Andrew shook his head. "What matters is that we take this flagship down. But what I'm also wondering is how are we going to do that?"

The karate enthusiast motioned the treasure hunter's attention to the main hull of the flagship, expecting him to understand what he was referring to. When Andrew was at a lost, Marco decided to elaborate.

"Okay, I assume that the type of magical energy running this ship is the same magical energy we encountered back in the power plant in the city dimension," he explained. "And because of that, this ship has a power core that is possibly running off of that energy and making this _airship_ fly."

"So in other words, we can bust into the power core and take it down," Star smirked, tossing the blue Miracle Gemstone up and down absentmindedly.

"That's the likely plan I had in mind," Marco confirmed. "We just have to make sure that no one is in danger when we destroy it."

"Well, in that case, that sounds like the reasonable plan," Andrew grinned. "Let's get cracking."

Star motioned her partners to follow her after she pocketed her Miracle Gemstone. She then stormed through the flagship, with Andrew right behind her.

"Wait up guys," Marco tried to call for them, but they were already ahead of him.

Trotting after them, Marco was beginning to wonder if this objective will turn into a suicide mission, not just for them, but for the other teams as well. Letting a sigh escape his mouth, the Latino then hurried after his teammates, hoping that Team Star and the other teams storming the flagship will get by this place in one piece…

* * *

Team Sparkle was next to have arrived at the flagship, as they looked at their surroundings. They were in even more shock than Team Star was while noticing all the ominous clouds, thunderstorms and the wind that was blowing in their direction. The girls had quite a challenge ahead of them, but that wasn't about to slow them down.

"Well girls, here we are, at our final destination," Daron muttered as she walked on the ground along with her partners. "This place is definitely enormous; it surprised me that Ludo would be hiding out here."

"No kidding Daron," Pony Head had to agree. "This place looks quite overwhelming to look at. I mean, I'm not afraid of thunderstorms, but this place definitely does give it the vibe that makes this the most challenging location we've been to yet."

"I know Pony Head, but we shouldn't let this weather get to us," Jackie ensured. "Our belongings have to be on this flagship, and we have this far to turn back now. So we got to push forward and find Ludo."

"Exactly Jackie," Daron nodded before getting confused. "The problem her is…I don't know which way we should go…I mean, I know Ludo is hiding in this place, but in which direction exactly?"

That was a question Pony Head and Jackie was unsure of too as they peered over to a group of rails to grind on. In a matter of seconds, they saw Team Dread grinding on the rails in the distance. Jackie then came up with the perfect solution.

"Hey dudettes, there's Janna and her partners," Jackie pointed. "Maybe if we stick close and follow them, we might be able to find and locate Ludo."

"Good idea Jackie," Daron loved the idea. "Since they're after Ludo too, maybe they'll help us get to him!"

"So what are we standing around here for," Pony Head was ready. "Let's follow them and finish this once and for all so Jackie and I can finally get our stuff back!"

"I couldn't agree with you more Pony Head," Daron smirked. "Let's get going."

"Right back at you dudette," Jackie grinned.

The three of them jumped onto the rails and grind down on them as they started to follow after Team Dread so they can find Ludo too and finally get their stuff back…

* * *

Speaking of whom, Team Dread was grinding on the rails after all. They had taken in their surroundings and how stormy and creepy it looked now that it was nightfall. Janna was wondering if they really were going in the right direction.

"Hey you two, are you sure this is the right way," the Filipino questioned. "Do you guys even know where Ludo is?"

"Most likely," Nebula shrugged. "I'm just following my killer instincts while Upsilon is following his inner rage against Ludo."

"Ludo is only minutes away from termination," Upsilon blared.

Something else that they noticed was that spotlights were shown all over the airship. This didn't get Nebula's attention as much as the weather around her. For some crazy reason, Nebula felt this weather foreshadowed something bad about to go down soon.

"Hey guys, call me crazy, but I feel something _strange_ about this ominous weather," Nebula shared. "I mean it could possibly be an omen."

"Oh you're just thinking too much right now Nebula," Janna shook her head before noticing something wrong with Upsilon too. "What, you feel something wrong too, Upsilon?"

"Sensing strong magnetic field in the perimeter," Upsilon informed them. "Magnitude is way off the scale in this predicament."

"I definitely think that this means something disastrous will happen," Nebula sighed before shaking her head. "But enough about that, because we're at the flagship, and it's time to attack!"

"Ludo's hideout has been detected," Upsilon boomed. "Destruction mode has been engaged!"

"Honestly guys, I never thought Ludo would have gotten possession of such a huge flagship such as this," Janna quirked. "This makes the other battleships we cross look inferior."

"Yeah, this definitely is quite an advanced flagship," Nebula confessed while shaking her head.

The three of them ended off the rails and landed on solid ground. Nebula curled her hands into determined fists and was quite ready to end this.

"We are almost to the moment of truth you two," she declared. "At the center of this ship is Ludo himself, and not only will we get our revenge-"

"And that supernatural artifact," Janna added abruptly.

"-but I'll finally be able to get some answers." Nebula finished, disregarding Janna's interruption.

With two nods, Janna and Upsilon followed Nebula through the flagship. All three of them had the strong urge to finally settle things straight with Ludo once and for all…

* * *

The Demonstrix had made it to the flagship as well, having completed their second to last mission by getting by without being spotted by monsters. Buff Frog was gripping onto the talkie, expecting the client to contact them at any minute. What was strange was that the client hadn't contacted them yet for their final mission, and even though they had one last task to do for him, the lack of the call put the frog monster a little bit on edge.

Thankfully, it wasn't raining despite the thunder being heard and seen in the ominous background. This was because they had learned from the experience in the jungle when Tom was able to withstand rain made of water, so this was a plus.

They had turned their attention to the deck that was in front of them as they were wondering if the client would give them their last mission or not.

"You know guys, we've definitely been through quite a lot for this adventure," Archibald made the first comment.

"Yeah, we definitely have been," Tom sighed while noticing how Buff Frog was gripping onto the talkie as his life depended on it. Archibald noticed this too and had let out a groan as a result.

"I just don't know what the big deal about this is," Archibald cried. "Maybe our client actually expects us to finish off Ludo just like the rest of the teams, and may not have to tell us what to do for this last mission!"

"Maybe, but we've known from the other dimensions that our client has this habit of knowing what we're up to," Tom exclaimed. "It's as if he has the All-Seeing Eye spying on us."

"Yeah, Tom has a point there," Buff Frog concurred. "It's highly unlike our client to not butt his _beak _in on us at unpredicted times. As vee speak, our client vill be calling us at any time-"

"Excuse me, whose butting their _beak_ in on whose business," the client spoke right on cue, getting the three monsters to jump.

"Uh, this crazy neighbor vee have, he's real nut job," Buff Frog lied, getting Tom to facepalm. "Anyway, vat's the scoop this time?"

"Well, you boys have done great so far, and you've come this far. I'm glad to say that this is your _final_ mission," the client revealed. Archibald looked ecstatic.

"Woohoo, we are getting honored for our dedication after all."

"Now hold up Archibald, let's see what our final mission is," Tom was being patient with the client.

"Here's your final mission: I've been…captured and I'm being held captive on this flagship, and now you just have to find the keys to rescue me. There are a total of five keys needed to get me freed."

This got Tom, Archibald and Buff Frog all surprised about what was revealed.

"Wait, we finally get to meet you in person!?"

"How are we suppose to find you since this ship is enormous!?"

"Vait, you've been here this entire time?"

The client anticipated these reactions from the Demonstrix and if it was possible, one could see the look of perplexity crossed his face.

"Well…technically speaking, yes, you will finally get to meet me and you'll be paid handsomely," the client confessed. "Once you find the 5 keys, you'll find the storage room that I'm being held in at the back of this flagship. Yes, I've been here this entire time since the air fleet took to the sky!"

"But vhy didn't ya tell us sooner about your location," Buff Frog asked. "Vee could have busted you out if you told us about your captivity! You vould have been freed by now!"

"I-I know," the client stuttered. "But this situation had to be handled in a delicate manner, and I needed to test your abilities to see if you were capable of this rescue mission. Besides, it would have been too early if you had gone and freed me sooner."

"Too early, for what…?"

The client cut off Tom's question by getting back to the point.

"Now look, just get the five keys, come and locate me, and do it before the flagship is brought down by the other teams," the client begged. "I'm counting on you boys!"

The line went dead as the Demonstrix took this in.

"Wow, someone is actually _counting_ on us to rescue him," Tom admitted, trailing off with uncertainty.

"And we don't even know who it is we're rescuing," added Archibald.

"No matter, vee will get to bottom of this mystery after vee find those five keys to free client," Buff Frog was determined. "Come on comrades. Vee are one last mission away from finishing job once and for all."

And with that, the three of them trekked through the flagship to complete their final mission by finding the five keys needed to free their client, and would result in them having accomplished their job once and for all…

* * *

Star Butterfly and her partners Marco and Andrew were currently grinding on a set of rails, already having made some significant progress through the flagship, taking down craw monsters along the way. Everything was going smoothly for Team Star until suddenly, a hulking monster landed right in front of them with a heavy thud. The monster resembled a troll monster, but it looked vastly different. It looked much heavier, had more strength, wore more sturdy armor and was wearing a red gladiator helmet on its head. The presence of this monster left Team Star in shock at what they had just encountered.

"Uh, isn't that a troll monster…?" Andrew took a quick guess.

"It looks like it, but this one looks much tougher," Star gasped. "And it's wearing heavier armor too!"

"That's probably because this is a Heavy Troll Monster: which are much _tougher_ than a regular troll monster," Marco gulped.

"Well this punk might be tougher, but I'm just as tough," Andrew was destined on landing the first strike. While charging at it, he slammed his fists into the monster, only to wince and feel his throbbing hand which showed that he couldn't punch through that armor.

The heavy troll monster retaliated by swinging its hammer with much more force and battered Andrew away like he was a simple baseball. Star managed to catch him on time before he fell off along with his hat, which was almost blown away.

"Ugh, this thing is tough," Andrew wheezed as Star put his hat back on his head. "No wonder why this monster is called the Heavy Troll Monster."

"Have you learned anything from when we faced that falcon jetfighter monster previously," Star set Andrew back on his feet. "We need to have a proper plan to deal with this monster."

"Yes, but how? The armor is impenetrable." Andrew was thinking.

"Well guys, I think the helmet on its head leads to its weak point," Marco deduced. "All we have to do is to remove that helmet, and then land a strike on its head. Afterwards, we can have the monster be held down for Andrew to rip off the armor by force. Then we can finish it off before it batters us off this flagship."

"Good thinking there Marco. Makes me glad that we have you around to help us," Star gushed honestly. "And I know _how_ we can do this too."

"And how is that if I may ask?" Andrew was curious.

"Like this, now watch and learn: Hurricane Force Wind!" Star took out her wand and used the aforementioned spell on the Heavy Troll Monster.

Living up to its name, the Heavy Troll Monster was hardly blown away by it, but this wasn't the intention at all. The helmet that was on its head was blown off and was sent flying away. The weak spot on its head was detected and it was now time for the next step.

"Now it's my turn," Andrew jumped into the air. "Let see how you'll like this!"

Andrew went above and drilled right towards the heavy troll's head. The heavy troll was swinging its hammer constantly at Star and Marco, who had to dodge it several times. But once Andrew made contact with its head, the monster let out a shrill yell and fell straight onto its back, with the hammer still in its grip.

"Now let's have this monster stick around on the ground for a while: Syrup Tsunami Shockwave!" Star unleashed that attack on the monster, which caused it to be covered in the stuff and it was having trouble getting back onto its feet.

Satisfied with this, Andrew went in and worked on prying off the armor from the troll that was under the gooey syrup. Despite how messy it felt, Andrew didn't slow down as he went to pull the armor off. In several minutes or so, Andrew successfully pulled off its armor entirely before tossing it over the edge and leaving the monster defenseless.

By then, the monster got back onto its feet and freed itself from that syrup. Seeing that it had no armor left, the three of them worked together to take this monster down.

"Now we got this monster cornered," Andrew was about to be crushed by the hammer, but he grabbed a hold of it and kept a tight grip on it.

Seeing this diversion playing into their hands, Marco jumped behind and delivered a karate chop to the back, which was followed by a swift kick afterwards. The monster howled in pain as Star then stepped up and dished out a Rainbow Fist Punch to the head. Seeing that the monster was getting dizzy and its head was spinning, Andrew released the hammer long enough so he could quickly approach the heavy troll monster and gave it a quick uppercut, sending the monster falling right onto its back. As it was trying to get up, Star delivered the final blow by firing a Rainbow Blast at the monster's head. This got the heavy troll monster to be knocked out cold, before being defeated. Star, Marco, and Andrew were sighing in relief as it vanished.

"Whew, that was one tough monster," the princess of Mewni wiped her forehead.

"No kidding," Andrew coughed. "That had to be one of our _toughest_ opponents yet."

"Yeah Andrew, but if we thought this monster was tough," Marco shivered at a possibility. "Imagine what other monsters of Ludo have been beefed up and given some magic energy to enhance their powers, creating a _difficulty spike_ for us."

"Well no matter what they may be," Star shrugged it off. "It won't stop us from putting a stop to Ludo's scheme!"

"You said it," the karate expert and the treasure hunter chimed in unison.

The three of them continued on after having dealt with that Heavy Troll Monster, wondering what else is in store for them...

* * *

As Team Sparkle was trailing after Team Dread and keeping their eyes on them, Jackie had to admit, this has been one heck of a thrill ride they've been on.

"You know dudettes," Jackie smiled. "I have to admit, that I'm glad that I got to join you two on this adventure we've been on."

"Wow, gurl, from the way you just said that you make it sound like you've never been on an adventure like this before," Pony Head took notice of her tone.

"That's because I haven't," said Jackie. "I've never had gotten a chance to go on an adventure such as this one."

"But why haven't you though," Daron queried.

"You see, prior to this adventure, and even prior to Star coming to Earth, I was just a typical American girl to most of the people in Echo Creek, and all that everyone knew me for was that I went to school, I rode a skateboard, and I was one of the most popular girls not just in school, but in Echo Creek as well," Jackie sighed as she added. "And to be perfectly honest, I never _wanted_ to become a popular girl in the first place. In fact, people only saw me as popular just because I had such a gorgeous figure at such a young age. I wanted people to treat me as an actual person, not as an object for the media to admire and for jerks to gawk at and take advantage of me."

"But you're also part mermaid too, which would explain why you had such a gorgeous figure for a young age." Daron pointed out.

"Exactly, and that's why I haven't told anyone outside of my family about my mermaid heritage because they would use that against me," Jackie frowned with a bitter tone in her voice. "And the last thing that I want is to get more attention from the media for having mermaid blood and increase my popularity. That's something that I _hate_ to no end."

"Yeah, I can understand that gurl," Pony Head understood. "But you ended up telling us about your mermaid heritage, and we're the first ones outside of your family to have known this."

"That's because you're my partners and I can trust you not to make such a commotion about it," Jackie insisted.

"Yeah, we wouldn't tell anyone about your mermaid heritage to make you_ miserable_," Daron promised. "Isn't that right Pony Head?"

"Of course," Pony Head spoke. "It's your privacy and you have every right to keep it."

"Thanks," the skateboarder girl continued. "Then there's the fact that I was also a little kid who Marco had been crushing on since we were in kindergarten."

"That reminds me, did you tell Marco about your heritage," Daron quizzed.

"Of course. I told him last night, and it's more than just trust playing a role in this," Jackie revealed. "You see, I always _liked_ Marco, and I always wanted to be able to hang out with him, but I didn't want to make him nervous or have a panic attack just because he's _shy_ around me. When he started talking to me thanks to Star, we started hanging out. I wanted to hang out with Marco because he's one of the _nicest guys_ I've ever met and he's always putting his own problems behind everyone else's, something that I _admire_ about him along with his determination. But what got me to gain a crush on him was when he said what he said at that sleepover with Star where he wanted to treat me like a person and not as an object. That touched my heart and it played a part in me gaining some affection for him. As of now, I can count on him to not let anything happen to me and he'll be destined to do whatever it takes for me."

"Wow Jackie, that was incredibly deep," Daron smiled.

"Yeah, Marco is definitely your kind of guy," the floating unicorn head said.

"Uh huh," Jackie grinned.

They were still walking as they noticed the platforms ahead of them were exploding and collapsing.

"Girls, the platforms below us are collapsing," Daron queered. "We need to get by here."

"No problem gurls, I got this covered," Pony Head grabbed both Daron and Jackie and carried them over the collapsing platforms without letting them go.

"Yeah Jackie, I'm definitely glad that I had you tag along with me and Pony Head," Daron commented. "You've been a lot of fun to travel with and I know why Marco enjoys being with you so much."

"Exactly," Jackie nodded. "Anyway, where did Janna and her crew run off too?"

"I dunno, I think we lost track of them," Daron looked around while Pony Head also skimmed through the air to find them.

"I think that if we head this way, we'll get to our destination," Pony Head encouraged as they kept moving. Evidently, they saw Team Dread in the distance. They were battling with a Heavy Troll Monster, and they were in a brutal fight with the tougher-than-nails monster.

"You know girls, I don't think we need to follow them anymore," Daron seemed confident. "Just as long as we follow this trail, we should be able to get to Ludo with no issues."

"Well if that's what you think is right then let's go with it," Jackie shrugged. "You are the leader after all."

"Certainly," Daron motioned them to follow.

Pony Head had shot down several cannons in front of them so they can press forward to their goal. Jackie was seemingly impressed with what she has experienced on this journey, and she couldn't have done it any better than this…

* * *

L-020 Upsilon existed for one purpose and _one purpose _only: to destroy all of Ludo's minions and put Ludo out of commission…well, that was the self-proclaimed goal that he installed into his memory bank.

Originally, Ludo had created him as an attempt to build and construct the ultimate fighting robot and killing machine, having been inspired by Nebula and her ultimate power from the Space Colony GOD scenario five months prior. Of course, since Ludo never built a robot before, the final result was that Upsilon proved to be overpowered and considered too dangerous for him to handle.

As such, Ludo then assigned the robot a new objective; to remain in the top secret closet to guard the capsule that Nebula was residing in, and nothing else. The robot did not appreciate this treatment at all and felt that he was left to waste thanks to that ungrateful master of an Avarian that they call Ludo. Because of this, the robot turned against him. Now Upsilon knew that he wasn't in that closet for long, but he had no idea how long Nebula was in there. Upsilon felt that Ludo saw him as an inferior minion of his, and he felt his raw power and potentiality was being wasted just from guarding a simple capsule that Nebula was comatose in. If it weren't for Janna, who knows how long he would have stayed in that room. It was only a matter of time before he snapped and destroyed everything in sight anyway.

"Must eradicate," Upsilon boomed. "All of Ludo's minions must be exterminated!"

"Upsilon," Janna cried out, allowing Nebula and Upsilon to take on the monsters. "I understand that you have the need to get back at Ludo for stuffing you in that closet by destroying his minions, but that would mean that you'd have to destroy yours-"

Upsilon didn't let her finish as two Heavy Troll Monsters landed in front of them, with him taking the first blow by a hammer. Janna felt shocked and concerned for her robotic companion, but because he was a robot, he felt nothing. In fact, he was still intact, not even revealing a dent on his exterior. Janna sighed in relieve as Upsilon prepared to open fire several missiles on the two Heavy Troll Monsters.

To be perfectly honest, Upsilon owed Janna some gratitude for getting him out of that room.

Somewhere along the way on this crazy, mixed up adventure, he had found Nebula and Janna by his side, having his back while he had theirs in return. True, it started off rocky with Nebula since they were entirely at odds against each other, along with how Janna was focused on the secret artifact and Nebula was focused on getting her lost memory, but now they proved to have become a pretty stable team. He had no idea how to feel the emotions he experienced with enjoying Janna and Nebula being around, but it was clear that since he had a heart programmed in his chest compartment that was sealed shut, there was no doubt that Upsilon showed concern for his comrades when danger was encasing them.

Regardless, they were a much better company than Ludo ever was.

"Upsilon, this one is getting ready to fall," Nebula pointed out, keeping the Heavy Troll Monsters distracted. "Strike at the right opportunity, understood!?"

"Objective accepted," was the reply that came from the killer robot.

He took aim at the monsters face and waited for the right moment to occur. Once the face was completely in range, he opened fire and the shot hit its mark perfectly. The Heavy Troll Monster was taken out of commission before disappearing. Upsilon then did the same thing with Nebula's assistance. The same results occurred in exchange.

"Not bad," Nebula gave him the quickest thumbs up she ever done.

"I must be quick and precise to be of use," he said. Team Dread definitely had their work cut out for them, but Nebula just shrugged and pointed her team to the next stop, meaning that this was all worth it. Upsilon quickly agreed with this as he followed along with Janna. If Upsilon hadn't proven his use to the team before, then he definitely has now. They continued their trek through the flagship to find Ludo, with Upsilon aiming at taking out anymore of Ludo's monsters that stood in his path.

And the robot couldn't have had it any other way…

* * *

The Demonstrix had already found the first key and were en route to locating the second one. Buff Frog was the one who claimed the first key and Archibald wanted to find the second key. Not to top off the frog monster, but to prove his worth as a member of the crew. Archibald had always been underused as a member of the Demonstrix and beforehand. Because of this, he felt like the underdog of the team. Now he should be used to staying in the shadows since he's worked for Eclipsa for a long time, and aside from Eclipsa, no one really gave him enough appreciation for his dedication. That being said, it wouldn't hurt to show his teammates how useful he is, right?

Not to mention he wanted to be every bit as useful as Tom and Buff Frog were. Buff Frog was able to get them by parts of the jungle dimension and the air fleet without being spotted by mermaids and monsters, and Tom had enough firepower to light up 60 torches in the mansion, but what was Archibald useful for? Being able to touch gargoyle statues to teleport his team and spit acid from his mouth to take care of enemies. Archibald really wanted to be seen for his worth.

Tom got his team to stop when he saw some monsters ahead of them.

"Guys, I think we got monsters to deal with," he instructed.

"Monsters," Archibald lit up and was about to fly in and attack them. "I wanna take care of-"

"Better leave this to me," Buff Frog stormed into the fray first to deal with the craw monsters, leaving Archibald to pout.

"But I-"

He didn't even finish when Buff Frog already went and bashed the monster's heads in with no problem, leaving Tom to whistle at how fast he did that.

"Impressive."

"Goes to show that I have this taken care of," Buff Frog was proud of his achievement.

After traveling some more and taking down more monsters, it was official. Archibald was going to prove his worth as he flew off to find the second key himself. Eventually, he found it in a nearby cage in which the key glinted and the gargoyle saw this.

"Hey guys, I found the key," the gargoyle called out, but neither of them was able to hear his plea. He then shrugged his shoulders and decided to get the key out himself. He worked on trying to pry open the bar, but it wouldn't budge a bit. Spitting acid also proved to be futile since it didn't melt the bars. "Ugh, there has to be a way to get this key out of this cage."

As Archibald surveyed the area for a switch, he shortly found himself face to face with a Heavy Troll Monster, who was in front of him while the cage was behind him. The Heavy Troll Monster growled at the sight of the gargoyle as he looked shocked.

"Uh…hello…?" He meekly uttered, wondering how this'll go.

Nearby, Buff Frog and Tom were looking far and wide for more keys to retrieve. It was then they noticed the absence of a certain gargoyle, which got them irritated that their companion ran off like that.

"Oh great, vhere did that eccentric gargoyle go this time," Buff Frog grunted, as he threw a box down onto the ground. "I swear he better not be making trouble…"

"Uh, we might be a little late for that Buff Frog," Tom coughed as he pointed to the gargoyle that was standing on a cage with the second key in it, and in front of him was a Heavy Troll Monster that was getting ready to clobber him with its hammer.

Buff Frog let out an uncharacteristic yelp before taking action immediately.

"Don't vorry Archibald, vee shall save you," Buff Frog blared. Archibald was just sitting in front of the cage in such an innocent manner.

"Save me, but I…"

Buff Frog already let out a battle cry and threw himself onto the Heavy Troll Monster. He punched it several times, which did nothing to stop the monster since its armor was hard. Tom was being wise and decided to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.

The Heavy Troll Monster acted by tossing Buff Frog off of him and then used its hammer. With it, the monster struck Buff Frog and sending him a couple of feet onto the ground. The monster continued spinning in place until it was dizzy. Tom noticed that the monster was helplessly standing on one foot while looking like it was about to fall. The demon was about to use this moment to strike, but before he could get close enough, Archibald did the honor and struck the last leg himself, which sent it onto the ground. Then Tom rushed in and attacked while Archibald saw that the impact that the monster left caused the cage to be shattered where the monster hit the ground. Archibald claimed the key and then held it up.

"Alright, I got the second key all by myself," the gargoyle cried as Tom finished off the monster while Buff Frog slowly stood up.

Buff Frog and Tom took that in for a minute and saw that Archibald did something useful for them. After giving him some praise for the deed, Archibald then had to ask the important question.

"Does this mean that I'm still underused by the Demonstrix?"

Buff Frog and Tom exchange glances and then turned to their gargoyle companion.

"Of course you're not underused Archibald," Tom insisted. "You are just as important to the team as the rest of us."

"Comrade Tom is right," Buff Frog nodded. "Boo Fly suggested that I hire you for good reason, Archibald. You've proven to be quite useful and vee are grateful for vat you've done for us."

This caused the gargoyle to smile in appreciation.

"Thanks, guys," he thanked them. "Now let's continue to find the three remaining keys."

With two nods, the frog monster and the demon obliged as the three of them trekked through the flagship. They've found 2 keys so far, and now they have to find the last 3 keys needed to free their client, while Archibald felt appreciated for his use to the Demonstrix…

* * *

Team Star was now stuck in an area that was surrounded by flashing lights. Star was most likely taking care of business like she has been throughout this journey, with consultation from Marco.

This didn't seem to bother Andrew at all. In fact, it was safe to say that he has grown quite used to it, for the most part.

Throughout this journey, Andrew Tresor had seen just how other dimensions looked beyond his island and was astounded by it _all_. The fact that he grew up on an island in isolation all by himself really must have something to do with it.

The treasure hunter had discovered that a long time ago, judging from observing the temple on his island, the Knuman, that was his species, went on the brink of extinction. The brink to near extinction occurred when a terrible incident occurred when the greed of the Knuman tribe led to their demise after they upset and enraged the wrath of a monster. Of course, because the Knuman did this intentionally by killing off the creatures the monster was guarding, it was almost safe to say that their death was almost karmic.

Since then, the population of the Knuman had declined significantly over the years, and by the time he was born, his own parents weren't even alive to see him be born. This didn't upset Andrew though. 16 years ago revealed that he was the last living Knuman in existence, and it's been that way ever since.

"Hey guys, that new challenging monster is blocking our way," Star pointed to the Falcon jet fighter monster in their path.

"I'll handle this, and this time I won't _drill _myself into it," Andrew shot a glance at Marco before charging to handle the monster. Marco grinned sheepishly before letting him carry on his assault.

As he took care of the monster, he started to think about why he was even here. Ever since that fateful day when Star and Marco invaded his island and after he found out that he was being tricked by Ludo, Andrew had traveled with them on several occasions, but not on adventures such as this.

This whole quest for him started when Marco showed up on his island with his dimension scissors and showed Andrew the letter that Ludo sent to them and Star. After Marco recruited Andrew to join him, both of them went through dimensions in his plane just to find Star and recruit her to put a stop to Ludo's plan. Andrew didn't have to go, but Marco just thought that it'd be best if he knew about it.

Now if it was anyone else who had approached him like that, then he would have said 'no' since he has an obligation to protect the Ruler Gemstone. Aside from that, Andrew had to wonder why he was so tolerable of Star and her crazy antics. Was it because he needed her to balance him and his serious personae out? Andrew had to admit that he didn't care about this balance, because he has helped her out on a number of occasions, no matter how angry she's made him, even if it was all the time.

"And take that, you're finished," Andrew finished off the challenging monster and put it out of commission. Star was absolutely astounded by how Andrew handled that.

"Woohoo, great job Andrew," Star cheered for him.

"Thanks, but now we should be on the lookout for anymore of those monsters," Andrew informed her. "This is the_ final _night, so I don't want us to let that go to waste."

"We know Andrew, but try to have some fun with it," Star coped. "The universe is on its last leg and we are the universe's last hope of peace, and our solution to this problem that we need to get to is in the center of the flagship!"

"That's exactly the situation we're in currently."

"Well don't make it sound any worse than it already is."

Star ran off with Marco trailing behind her. Andrew decided to jog after them as he was left thinking again.

Andrew had left his island and his dimension a few times for intentions that required him. But this has been the longest time that he's been off that island, even more so than the whole Space Colony GOD scenario.

But while he still groans about Star's antics, he has to admit that traveling with Star and Marco isn't such a bad experience after all. As long as he's with Star and Marco, the traveling is worth it, most of the time.

He may not enjoy their company all the time, but every once in a while, their presence is just fine with him…

* * *

"Guys, those monsters look pretty tough ahead of us," Janna cried as they saw three of those falcon jetfighter monsters ahead of them. "We better be careful."

"I'm so tired of these stupid creeps," Nebula growled. "Just who do they think they are anyway?"

"Monsters are identified as the Yellow Falco Jet-Fighter Monster 2000," Upsilon announced. "So these monsters are the _latest_ addition to Ludo's army? No matter, I'll destroy them just like the rest!"

"So that's what these monsters are called," Janna was jumping out of the way of the monster's attack.

"You just found out what they are called when we faced them before and you didn't bother to tell us," Nebula said flatly.

The three of them used teamwork to take out the three jetfighter monsters before they pressed onward. Afterwards, Upsilon was looking for more monsters to fight while Nebula and Janna followed after him. While they were traveling, Janna had something she needed to get off her chest and felt like sharing with Nebula.

"Excuse me, Nebula, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Nebula sighed. "What do you want to ask?"

"Nebula…do you think…I'm selfish?"

Nebula was not expecting that question, and it took her a moment to think about it.

"Hm, well you're a troublemaking rogue who has done some mischievous acts and done several pranks and taunted people that you love to taunt, but are you selfish? Huh…"

"Nebula," Janna growled.

"Just being straight up," Nebula was being honest. "Why do you even ask me anyway?"

Janna's face softened up again as she got straight to the point.

"Well, it's just that ever since I was a kid, I had always had such a strong devious streak and enjoyed doing stuff such as stealing Marco's house-keys and his personal ID cards and fingerprints, and for showing such a strong desire in swiping supernatural artifacts."

Nebula took this in as Janna continued.

"In addition to that, I have been known for being irresponsible and inattentive as it was shown in the past, due to dismissing certain duties I was given, I have gotten detention so many times for my disruptive and rude behavior, and it even got to the purpose that I was hoping to achieve five months ago while being a government spy."

"Well Janna, I may not remember what happened five months ago, but if I were to tell you honestly if you are selfish and irresponsible, then you are far from being that _entirely_. Sure, you tried to gamble, use the turret in the canyon dimension and even wanted to wrestle with a sea serpent that was about to eat us, but if you were selfish and irresponsible, then you would have allowed Upsilon and I to destroy the city dimension without a care, because Ludo was controlling it," Nebula was being straight up. "Also, if you were being selfish, you wouldn't have helped me out of that capsule and you would have left me with nothing to remember and no past to recover. I'll also say that you're far from evil in spite of your interests in the occult and the supernatural."

"That's what I figured," Janna rubbed the back of her head. "I feel like this journey has been changing me and making me less selfish and a little more responsible."

"It's a possibility," Nebula went with it. "Even though I don't remember you from before this journey, if you were selfish and irresponsible back then, then you are hardly that as of now."

"Thanks for that comment Nebula," Janna thanked her. "I guess having to make sure you two don't kill each other or anyone else and make sure all three of us reach our goals was what signaled the change in me."

"That's definitely the likely reason," Nebula shrugged. "And I was glad to be of assistance, I guess."

"And I promise you that if we get the answers we need, I'll be sure to continue this change and put it in action," Janna promised.

Before Nebula could respond, Upsilon blared out an important fact.

"Ludo is located due north: continue to proceed in said direction."

Nebula and Janna said nothing else as they followed their robot companion. Janna felt a little more insightful than she did before, and she actually was proud of what she had achieved so far on this quest.

Indeed, this couldn't have happened in a better team for the nightmare loving Filipino…

* * *

"Okay girls, it's looking pretty dangerous up ahead, so here's the plan," Daron declared the plan that she came up with. "Pony Head will fly us over this gap, and then the three of us will take care of the monster brutes ahead. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a good plan gurl," Pony Head smiled. "Let's go with it."

"I'm ready to go with it too Daron," Jackie showed support for this idea.

Pony Head then went and got her partners over the gap, showing that they can trust her not to drop them.

"Gurls, I feel we are much closer to my medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace." The floating unicorn head was being confident.

"I feel the same way Pony Head," said Jackie.

As she flew over the gap and helped with handling the monsters, Pony Head couldn't help but notice how this journey made her nicer.

The mean streak had something to do with being spoiled and getting everything she wants when she was a young floating unicorn head. This was a drawback from having a mom and dad who were a queen and king respectively. It also doesn't help that she also had a bunch of sisters who were always giving her problems since she was the eldest sister. Combined with growing up with Star on Mewni, where they both went on reckless adventures and have done some daredevil rebellious stunts, and this caused her to become selfish, arrogant, self-centered, and a narcissist.

However, this quest that she went on was what changed her out of that. She had learned to be more selfless and considerate to her teammates, and that she learned how to be a nicer pony. True, she hasn't stopped her sassy attitude especially with people who tick her off and insult her, but she has been far more respectful than she was when this journey began.

_Wow, and all this time, it only took this one journey that I went on to finally get me to have a grasp on reality to show how I've been acting. _Pony Head's thoughts were loud and clear to her.

She was even able to have conversations with her teammates without having it directly about herself. To prove it, she looks around the flagship that Ludo was hiding in and decided to share her insight.

"You know gurls, I still can't believe Ludo found a flagship like this one," Pony Head remarked. "This place is too huge to be a hideout for him!"

Daron decided to share her own opinion. "Maybe Ludo must not like his neighbors much…"

"I doubt that Ludo has any neighbors where he lives," Pony Head insisted. "And even so, they probably wouldn't like him either since everyone on Mewni hates him."

"That's a good point," Daron seemed to understand that and shrugged. "But there's always the possibility."

"Yeah, I can't imagine Ludo having the friendliest neighbors either, let alone have any neighbors," Jackie jumped in.

"That's true Jackie gurl," Pony Head smiled.

They then continued where they descended into a lower area.

"Well girls, we are making good progress so far," Daron assured. "Only a bit farther until we make it."

"Looks like things are looking up for us," Pony Head cheered.

"True that Pony Head," Jackie smirked.

They then continued through the flagship, with Pony Head having no doubts or regrets of the change in kindness that she has been given, and firmly believes that things are finally looking up to them…

* * *

Since they had two keys under their belts, the Demonstrix only had to find three more keys. Archibald was proud of being shown to be useful while his teammates followed behind him.

"Alright, thanks to Archibald who found the second key, we only need 3 more keys left," Tom exclaimed. "So let's keep this up."

"So we can finally free our client, beat up Ludo for doing what he did, and be shown that we did our job as good monsters," the gargoyle chirped. "In the words of Star Butterfly, this should be a piece of cake!"

Tom just nodded and observed the area for the third key, which could be anyway.

Meanwhile, Buff Frog was thinking about what Archibald said and started to remember what his childhood was like as a little tadpole.

He had always wanted to do good things for others but found it to be impossible due to the whole monster discrimination by the Mewman.

"You know Comrade Tom, it's funny," Buff Frog started. "Ever since I was a wee tadpole, I had this dream of becoming hero and doing good things for others."

Tom looked curious at this as the frog monster continued.

"Then as I grew up, I saw just how Mewman saw monsters as horrible beings despite the fact that they stole monster's land first and started a war between monster and Mewman. As I grew into my teenage years, I figured doing heroics for ungrateful Mewman vas next to impossible due to discrimination."

"I see…" Tom seemed to sympathize with the frog monster.

"Then many years later, I ended up vorking for Ludo, and…vell…vee know how that turned out vhere I helped in trying to steal Star's vand for vat seemed like years," Buff Frog recapped. "Yes, the job vith Ludo vas good until he hired Toffee to vork for him, and I was only monster suspicious of Toffee and his motives. Then when Star and her friends were reenacting Mewnipendence Day, I _failed _to get wand, and Ludo fired me as suggested by Toffee. Then after losing job, I had nothing until Ludo gave me a sack of tadpoles, vhich I thought vas a genuine gift, but it turned out to be bribe until Star showed up. It vas then I realized my true purpose and became good monster for tadpole babies. As they grew up, I remembered the original dream and vanted to achieve that dream."

Buff Frog then frowned.

"Then I vas appointed Monster Expert, I left Butterfly Castle vith other monsters, and then I formed the Demonstrix and hired you and Archibald," Buff Frog finished. "But now, I'm starting to feel _doubt_ about if this vas all for nothing."

Tom took all that in and understood where he was coming from.

"I understand where you're coming from Buff Frog," Tom exclaimed. "I had grown up in the Underworld with anger issues for many years. The anger issues were a problem for me in every situation I've been in, especially when I started dating Starship. In fact, my anger issues were the primary reason why Starship broke up with me. From there, I tried to get her to go to the Blood Moon Ball with me, but that still backfired since even though I was seeing an anger counselor, I still couldn't hold back. It wasn't until I played ping pong with Marco that I learned that I can't force Star to like me back and that she can't come back to me if she doesn't want to. And it was especially after the whole Demoncism scenario that I realized that I needed to take action, so I started meditating."

"Yeah, I get vat your saying," Buff Frog nodded as Tom kicked a nearby door open, which revealed the third key that they needed to retrieve.

"Getting back on topic Buff Frog, you've been doing everything for a client we don't even know, and when we save him, you'll be our client's hero," Tom assured. "You might not be one to the extent of Starship, or even that Nebula girl who sacrificed herself for the universe, but you are a hero in your own right."

"Yeah, I never thought of it like that," Buff Frog scratched his head as Archibald picked up the key.

"I think you're a hero Buff Frog, and you're showing a good example of how monsters can be good," Archibald dropped the third key into the frog monster's hands. "In fact Buff Frog, I see you as an inspiration, and I always wanted to be like you."

"Like…me," Buff Frog was shocked by what the gargoyle just said. "Oh, but I haven't done much, so why would you want to be like me?"

"Nonsense, you're a trained expert in the espionage, and you can jump to high heights, and you have a tongue that can be used to grab objects," Archibald assured him. "You can be really awesome Buff Frog, and the same goes for Tom."

Tom actually perked up from that compliment, as Buff Frog lightly laughed and patted Archibald on the head. "I always knew you vere a good gargoyle Archibald."

"Yeah, now let's go and find the fourth key," the demon didn't want to ruin the moment, but they still had their final mission to accomplish. Buff Frog and Archibald nodded as they then continued.

They ended up getting onto a self-destruct switch where slight ticking was heard. They used the last few seconds to evacuate from there immediately, just as it then exploded. This caused them to careen through the air and they eventually landed on a rail.

"Whoa, I didn't expect that to self-destruct," Tom was wide-eyed. "We barely got out alive."

"Yeah, well that's what they get!" Archibald proclaimed.

"Vat an explosion," Buff Frog blinked. "Vee could have been toast for sure; even though it wasn't as bad as vhen Ludo's old castle blew up."

"I hope the other teams are being a little less careless than we were…" Tom trailed, hoping the other teams wouldn't do a dumb stunt like the one they did. Buff Frog and his crew continued on the rails to find the last 2 keys, with the frog monster feeling hopeful that he will be known as a hero to their client when they rescue him…

* * *

"Star!" Andrew was heard hollering as Team Star made the same reckless decision with the self-destruction switch. "Of all the reckless things you've done yet!"

"Hey, I wasn't expecting that switch to self-destruct Andrew," Star barked back.

"Are you kidding, it's been blown to pieces," Andrew pointed to the explosion behind them. "It's a good thing we got out of there alive!"

"I wonder why it self-destructed," Marco was perplexed by that occurrence.

"Probably behind it was as hotheaded as Andrew's temper," Star teased.

"Excuse me," Andrew barked. "Who was the one to have touched it; you or me?"

"I did of course."

"Exactly, and that settles this case!"

Star and Andrew had their bickering fits again as Marco just watched them as he shook his head. They were grinding on rails as Marco just smiled at them.

Marco, the kid who wouldn't have done anything like this if it was years ago. Before Star came to Earth, Marco was a very insecure lonely boy who had a couple of friends. Everyone had referred to him as the 'Safety Kid' after wearing a helmet in the shower that one time. He had tried shaking this off by labeling himself as a Misunderstood Bad Boy, but he knew how that turned out since his safety urges always kicked in. Not only was he called a safe kid, but he was continuously crushing on Jackie Lynn Thomas for many years since his kindergarten days.

It was when Star first came to Earth where his whole life changed right before him. This got him to become a better person, to finally get the courage to talk to Jackie, and get to go on more adventures. True, he still got the short end of the stick at times when he had that bad day when he accidentally broke Jackie's skateboard, got that octopus arm, had been kidnapped by Toffee, got inflicted with the Naysaya curse on his neck, and other misfortunate, but as Jackie told him, he just keeps on getting back up and trying again as his determination tells him to.

And now here he was, willing to risk his life to help Star and Andrew balance out and serve as their voice of reason to keep them from getting at each other's throats. Furthermore, while he may not be referred to as the safety kid anymore, he still has those moments where he must inform his team of the incoming danger in front of them.

To prove it, Marco noticed one charging red laser cannon in the distance and grew wide-eyed. He felt the need to warn his teammates about this.

"Guys, look out," he hollered. "A red laser beam is about to be fired in your direction!"

Star and Andrew then looked and saw what Marco was talking about and saw that it was being blasted in their direction. Fortunately, they flew out of the way in the nick of time.

"Okay, what was that," Andrew yelped. "What was that bright light, giant laser cannons?"

"I'm afraid so," Marco cried. "Those cannons are firing straight at us! These rails are like lightning magnets!"

"They can't be targeting us, can they?" Star asked.

"Yes, if we're on these rails they are," Marco warned. "So we better be careful!"

"Don't worry Marco," Star assured. "It just so happens that _careful_ is my middle name!"

"That's funny," Andrew joked. "I always thought that _danger _was your middle name."

"Oh, you know what I mean Andrew," Star snapped.

The two of them continued to bicker while dodging the incoming laser cannons that stood in their way. Marco kept out of the range of the laser cannons too up until he caught up to them and they got away from the cannons.

Truth be told, Marco has Star to thank personally for how much progress he has made in his life. He still has his moments where he acts like a dork and he does get a little nervous when he's around Jackie, but that's what makes him so adorable in the eyes of Star's and especially in the eyes of Jackie's. Of course, Andrew is cool with this too, since he's just being who he truly is, and Andrew was willing to accept the Latino for who he is.

Marco then starts to think about the talk Jackie had with him last night, such as her mermaid heritage and how she once had doubts about their relationship, which Marco then affirms that she has nothing to worry about since he's staying with her.

_I'm still feeling in a good mood after the kiss I gave to Jackie last night. I…I sure hope she liked it…_

Eventually, Marco and his partners got off the rails and ended up ambushed by some monsters that got Star excited.

"Hey, there are monsters everywhere," Star chirped. "It's time for us to party!"

"It looks like their attack is mounting," Marco observed. "You two better keep your guard up!"

"No worries, I'll destroy everything that comes my way!" Andrew proclaimed, going after one of the Heavy Troll Monsters.

"Well, I best not get in Andrew's way anytime soon," Star quipped, knocking down several craw monsters with Rainbow Fist Punches.

"Ugh," Andrew growled as he continued his fight as Marco watched them and smiled. Just because he still has some safety kid features doesn't mean he can't take a risk every once in a while.

Letting out a determined cry, Marco then jumped in and landed a karate chop on one of the craw monsters, knocking it out cold. Star saw this and acclaimed him.

"Alright, way to go Marco," she whooped.

Marco only smiled as he kept fighting the monsters along with Star and Andrew…

* * *

There was a time where Tom had wondered why he was allowed to join the Demonstrix with the type of person he was. In addition to the anger issues he had in the past, he also didn't have any friends growing up. It was clear that he had a friendless background when he was younger, and it wasn't just because of his anger problems either.

Why would anyone want to become _friends_ with a demon anyway?

The only reason people on Mewni respected him at all was that he was half Mewman and he was a prince. If that wasn't the case, then no one would have respected him if he was a pure demon. Demons are feared and loathed by most people in the universe and they are hard to get along with.

So to see that he was welcomed into the Demonstrix after he wanted to join to atone for his mistakes came as a surprise to him. Buff Frog allowing him to join the crew also came as a shocker.

All these thoughts ran through the demon's mind as they were grinding on some rails and watching out for the laser cannons, which Archibald and Buff Frog were talking about.

"It's yellow, a yellow laser!"

"Is this _one_ yellow Buff Frog?"

"No, that's blue laser!"

"Well, how am I supposed to know? I'm colorblind!"

"Alright, move to your left!"

"If you say so Buff Frog…!"

"Now it's firing red laser, to your right!"

Tom shook his head as he continued grinding until he reached solid ground.

Tom knew that he had friends now with not just his Demonstrix members, but also with Marco and Andrew, and also has some respect and friendliness from Star. But it still _hurts_ to know that his childhood was spent with suffering from anger issues and from having a friendless background. Though from the looks of it, it seems Janna was willing to befriend the demon in spite of the fight they had on the skyscraper, seeing it as a misunderstanding, and it was something that she apologized for last night in the spooky dimension, and they made amends and formed a possible friendship too.

He jumped down and landed on the next platform where he knocked out a craw monster and took the fourth key that it had in its possession. In addition to that, he also found a key that looked different from the ones they collected; this key was smaller and was color coated gold.

"This is peculiar," Tom decided to pick it up. "I better hold onto this for safe keeping."

As he pocketed it, Buff Frog and Archibald caught up with their demon partner after dealing with the whole laser cannon fiasco in getting Archibald to know which laser was which since he was colorblind.

"Hey guys, I retrieved the fourth key from a monster I knocked out, so we only need one more," Tom updated them. "I also found a smaller key that is different from the keys that we've been collecting, but it could be important."

"Good vork there Tom," Buff Frog praised him. "I vould have been here sooner, but someone vas clearly colorblind by colored lasers."

"Honestly, it would have been easier if you got me to move to my left and to my right," Archibald groaned.

"That's vat I've been trying to say," the frog monster told him.

"Well it's behind us now," Tom got them back on track. "We still need to find the door that our client is being held in after finding the last key, so there's no time to waste."

"My thoughts exactly, so let's go," Buff Frog followed Tom with Archibald following right behind them.

They were in luck since it didn't take long at all for them to find it, thanks to Archibald spotted the key locked up like some of the others. And of course, it was being guarded by a horde of monsters.

"Vell, you know vat vee must do," Buff Frog got ready. "Let's take care of these monsters."

"I'm right behind you," Tom was willing to go with that.

Tom started by unleashing several flames and fireballs which he threw at the monsters. Once that left them burned, Buff Frog and Archibald went right to work with disposing of them. Buff Frog jumped and bashed some monster heads, while Archibald tackled and bit some other monsters on the next. There were only three, which Buff Frog and Archibald took out two, so Tom was left with the final monster which was taken care of with a single fireball hurled in its direction. This freed the final key they needed to free their client.

"There we go," the demon claimed it. "Our final mission is on the brink of being completed."

Meanwhile, Buff Frog's attention was focused on something else. He went to investigate, only to see it was another cage. However, a red glow was emitted from the cage as Buff Frog saw what it was. It was a red gemstone kept in the cage with a silver lock, and this gemstone was revealed to be the red (and final) Miracle Gemstone. This actually got Buff Frog impressed by what he found.

"Vell, vell, it looks like Ludo kept his trump cards hidden in plain sight," he chuckled. "I bet this is vat Tom's key goes to."

"And I got it right here," Archibald had taken the key from Tom, having pulled a Janna on him as he tossed it to Buff Frog. Buff Frog was actually surprised by how he took it from Tom.

"How'd you managed to get it off of his person vithout him knowing?" He raised his eyebrow.

"I just pulled a Janna on him," Archibald shrugged. "They're not Marco's house keys, but this is what we're looking for."

Buff Frog was surprised as to how he even _knew_ who Janna was and how she swiped Marco's _house keys_. He decided to leave it a mystery and shook his head.

He then used the key to unlock the cage and grabbed the red Miracle Gemstone and held it in his hands.

"Vow, it's as pretty as other Miracle Gemstone vee have," Buff Frog admired its glow.

"And we got _two_ now," Archibald whooped. "I never thought that this would happen to us!"

"I take it you never collected these gemstones before."

"No, I haven't, Buff Frog."

"Alright, who stole my key," Tom sounded a little irritated by how his key was stolen as he turned to face the group. The irritation had vanished entirely when he saw just what Buff Frog had in his hand, which was the red Miracle Gemstone. Archibald looked guilty for pulling a Janna on him, but Tom decided to forget about that since they had found another Miracle Gemstone.

"Wow, so you guys found another Miracle Gemstone," he remarked. "Nice job you two."

"Yeah, vell…" Buff Frog approached him with the gemstone in his hand. "Since you vere one to have found key for this gemstone, I figure that you should keep this Miracle Gemstone, especially since Archibald already has cyan Miracle Gemstone in his possession."

"Say what," Tom was taken aback while Buff Frog placed it in his hands. "But Buff Frog, wouldn't it be more reasonable for you to keep it since you're the leader of the Demonstrix?"

"Mmmm…perhaps," Buff Frog then cracked a smile. "But I suppose you also deserve a little reward for all your efforts and hard work you've done, especially vith friendless background that I know about from you. I really appreciate vat you've done for team Comrade Tom."

"What about me? You appreciate me too, right," Archibald asked.

"Of course, but I've been through vith you already," Buff Frog told him before turning to Tom once again. "For Comrade Tom, on the other hand, it's been way long overdue, and I don't regret hiring you for Demonstrix team either."

Tom actually felt touched by this gesture. Joining the Demonstrix was one of the best things that has happened to him after all.

"Thank you for this Buff Frog," Tom gave him a genuine smile. "I truly appreciate this."

"Anytime Comrade Tom," Buff Frog assured. "Now since vee have five keys, let's go and rescue client!"

"I'm way ahead of you Buff Frog," Archibald whooped. "Let's roll!"

Tom nodded as he put the red Miracle Gemstone away in his pocket as he followed his teammates with the five keys in their possession. While they were on their way to rescue their mysterious client, they were going to make a wrong turn before getting there. Nonetheless, Tom followed his teammates with pride from being a member of the Demonstrix…

* * *

"Ludo has underestimated us, thinking we wouldn't have gotten this far," Nebula grunted as they were well into the flagship.

"We've still had a close few shaves though," Janna remarked as they were now on the rails again.

"Searching for next target," Upsilon was scanning to see if there were anymore of them Falco Jetfighter Monsters to take down. Meanwhile, Nebula was still in thought. She just couldn't believe it, why did Ludo have to make things so hard for her. All she wanted was her memory back. Was that a lot to ask for?

"I just don't get it, why doesn't Ludo tell me the truth," Nebula growled. "So why does he feel the need to play games with us?"

"Well Ludo gets a kick out of getting people mad for sick kicks," Janna answered. "Not to mention a huge flagship. I mean if you're aiming on conquering the universe, you'll need something this big!"

"It's not big enough to withhold me: I will destroy it with my bare hands!" Upsilon announced.

"Just be sure that the other teams aren't killed off," Janna cried. "They shouldn't be brought down with this flagship."

"Yeah, the other teams shouldn't be killed off," Nebula had to sigh while jumping to the next rail. A couple of people on those teams were Janna's friends, and if that's the case, Nebula has to respect that and move forward.

Suddenly, Upsilon started to go haywire and Janna took notice of this.

"Whoa, you okay _big guy_," Janna sounded concerned for him.

"Electromagnetic pulses increasing ten-fold; prepare to brace for impact!"

"What?"

"Janna, I think he means there is a laser-!"

Nebula didn't finish as a laser cannon was fired and she had to grab Janna and get her out of the line to safety. There was a red laser, and then a yellow laser.

"I should have known," Nebula growled. "Laser cannons, we better be cautious!"

"Incoming yellow laser," Upsilon jumped out of the way.

"This is becoming ridiculous."

"No kidding Janna, Ludo must have security beefed up in the form of these laser cannons!"

"That…seems quite obvious," Janna blinked before they started grinding again.

They continued while having to dodge several laser beams that were fired at them. It was clear that this was becoming dangerous and Nebula had to put a stop to it.

"Grrr, if only there was an off switch for these stupid cannons," Nebula sneered.

"Let's worry about that while you're not flying into one of those lasers," Janna shrieked.

Nebula was confused by what she was talking about until she saw a dome that took the shape of Ludo's head and it was firing a large red beam at them. It was then Nebula had a plan, but she hoped that it could work and she needed Janna to trust her.

"Just stick with me Janna and Upsilon," Nebula assured. "I have a plan."

"Nebula, what kind of plan…?" Janna had a look of fear in her eyes.

"Janna, please," Nebula said. "Just trust me on this!"

Seeing that she had no other choice, Janna went with it as she and Upsilon were escorted through thanks to Nebula. Nebula managed to fly out of range and flew across the air without grinding on the rails again. If there was one thing Nebula had to do, it was to get her allies to a safer spot. This was just too dangerous for them.

Nebula then dove onto a platform with her partners beside her as Janna looked curious.

"So what's your next genius move Nebula?"

Nebula just smirked as she jumped onto a self-destruct switch with her allies. Once they were aligned on it, the dome in front of them exploded like a detonator, and they were sent all the way over there thanks to the friction that the explosion caused them. Now Nebula was more than ready to even the score with Ludo. Even if she may not recover all of her memory from that Avarian, she was going to show Ludo just who he's up against and that she is the ultimate life form.

"Now we finally go and face Ludo," Nebula roared. "This flagship is no match for the Ultimate Life Form!"

Nebula led the charge with Janna and Upsilon right behind her, with the latter blaring about how Ludo is seconds away from being terminated. Nebula was finally going to show Ludo who he's messing with once and for all…

* * *

Team Sparkle was coming to a close to their trek as well, as they were storming through a corridor that connected the areas together. They knew that Ludo had to be close by. Pony Head then started to notice how eerily familiar the surrounding was to her.

"Gurls, this weather kinda reminds me of when I was going to St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses'," Pony Head shuddered.

"Oh yes, Star had told me about that place before," Daron recalled the name of that school.

"Uh, what is St. Olga's," Jackie on the other hand, didn't know what that was.

"It's essentially a reform school for wayward princesses, hence the name," Pony Head revealed. "On my birthday, Star came in to break me out while being accompanied by Marco. They were disguised as they committed a rebellion against Ms. Heinous' propaganda, and while Star wore a cool outfit, Marco was disguised as a princess with a long ponytail and was wearing a pink frilly dress."

She was expecting Jackie to laugh, but instead, Jackie started to blush.

"I bet Marco must've been_ hot _while wearing that dress," Jackie's face went red upon imagining what Marco would look like as a girl.

"Oh gurl, you had to be there to see it for yourself," Pony Head told her.

"Anyway girls, we're almost to Ludo's hideout," Daron got them on track. "We are this close to getting your stuff back and show him what we're made of, and that we are just as capable as Star Butterfly."

As she said that, both Pony Head and Jackie had the same question that popped into their minds: why was Daron such a huge fan of Star Butterfly? They had to find out for themselves.

"Hey Daron gurl, this might be a question that came out of nowhere," Pony Head started. "But I want to know why you're such a big fan of Star anyway?"

"I'm wondering about _that_ too," Jackie agreed. "There's no pressure in needing to tell us why Daron, but we were just wondering, that's all."

Even though the nerdy girl didn't have to answer that question, she insisted and decided to answer anyway.

"Well girls if you must know the reason, it goes like this," she started. "Before Star came to Earth, I was just a typical nerdy girl who had a fancy in princesses and unicorns and I also didn't have many friends, if any at all. At an early age, I was known as Daron Sparkle by many as I always had a thing for princesses. It wasn't abnormal at first since little girls liking princesses was normal behavior. But then when I entered middle school and eventually high school, I still had that interest in princesses and unicorn. And because of that, all of my peers found that to be humiliating and they laughed at me for it."

Both Pony Head and Jackie gasped as Daron continued.

"This was mainly the reason why I didn't have many friends at all," Daron sounded sad. "But then Star came to Earth, and that's when everything changed. When I learned that a princess from another dimension was going to my school, I was psyched. When I learned her name, I wanted to change my name to something that people won't associate with as 'the nerdy girl who loves princesses'. The name I chose for this particular moment was StarFan13, which was the name I used on my social media accounts, and I had retired the name Daron Sparkle for the first year or so. After we started spending more time together like at that sleepover, Star had asked me for my real name. I gave it to her along with the reason why I've been hiding it. Star then assured me that I shouldn't hide something just because some bullies bullied me for liking princesses and unicorns at my age and that I should accept myself with pride and dignity."

Pony Head and Jackie took all this in as Daron was starting to wrap up her explanation.

"And so Star told me that she believes in me and that she has faith in me too," she wrapped up. "So after this journey that we're on, we'll be one step closer to following in the footsteps that Star Butterfly has walked into."

Once she finished, her partners took several moments to process what she said. When it became clear to them what she was talking about, they decided to give her their support. Pony Head was the first to jump in.

"Honestly Daron, it sounds like it was super cool that you had that kind of interest as a little kid," she gushed.

"Yeah Daron, everything that Star taught you was the truth," Jackie assured her. "You can be yourself and not be ashamed of it. In fact, I like you just the way you are; a big fan of Star Butterfly."

"Wow, d-do you mean that," Daron stuttered as Jackie nodded.

"Duh, we definitely mean that girlfriend," Pony Head insisted. "You are not just our leader. You are our friend too."

This actually touched Daron on the inside, as she truly felt like she was herself around her friends. No sooner than that did this lead to a group hug by all three girls, showing that they are supporting each other.

"Thank you, girls, for the compliments," Daron smiled.

"Anytime Daron," both of them said.

"Now let's go and get Ludo once and for all," Daron pointed. "We'll finally put him in his place and get back your medallion and seashell necklace from his possession."

"You know it sistah," Pony Head grinned.

"And I bet we'll run into the other teams too," Jackie gave an encouraging smile. _Not to mention Marco._

She kept that one quiet as Daron got her team to follow her in a certain direction, which was most likely where Ludo was hiding. The only thing was that while they _knew _that they would be engaging in a fight with the Avarian, they had no idea how_** brutal**_ it was going to be…

* * *

"Wow guys, Ludo must know how to give us a warm welcome," Star snickered as she avoided several lasers that were striking in her direction.

"Don't get too excited Star," Marco notified her. "We still got more cannons ahead!"

"Ludo could leave 24 cannons out to shoot us, and that will still not be enough to stop us!" Andrew proclaimed.

"That's the spirit Andrew," Star admired Andrew's confidence.

She led her team down several more rails while dodging different color lasers that were red, yellow, and blue. Star was able to jump from rail to rail to avoid contact, while Marco and Andrew had to scurry out of the way in time by hastily getting onto the other rails.

_"Star,"_ Marco started to panic, as a yellow laser just missed him by an inch.

"Just hang in there," Star assured. "We're almost there!"

"It's getting a little dangerous, don't you think," Andrew felt the need to bring up.

"We've been in danger when we started this adventure Andrew, and there's no turning back now!"

Marco was shuddering at how dangerous it has gotten. Regardless, the three of them made it back to solid ground and narrowly avoided the lasers from the cannons aimed at the rails. Both of her partners were breathing heavily while Star landed next to them to check on them.

"See, that wasn't so bad, wasn't it?" Star didn't seem too discouraged. Andrew practically glared at her while Marco was still regaining himself.

"I guess it could've been worse," Andrew finally said before walking off. "Now how much further until we get to the power core?"

"I have _no_ idea," panted Marco. "We can always go after Ludo first, which is our best course of action. Besides, if we destroy the power core now, all the other teams on this ship will be killed when it blows up."

"You think we've would have realized that right from the start," Andrew huffed.

"Still," Star was scratching her left eye. "How are we going to stop the fleet without blowing everyone up?"

"We'll figure that one out once we finally beat the tar out of Ludo," Andrew declared as he walked off with Marco to the edge of the flagship, despite the fact that there was practically nothing there.

"I guess we can go find Ludo first," Star shrugged before trailing behind them. However, the princess of Mewni was picking up this annoying buzzing sound; one that Marco and Andrew were immune to hearing and couldn't detect the sound nearby. Yet, she could hear it and it was driving her nuts.

"Ugh, where is that sound coming from," Star exasperated, looking in all directions for the source of that sound. Once she turned full circle, she noticed a Ludo head shaped dome behind them, with one powerful red laser, was charging with its opened right eye. Apparently, there was more than one of them in the flagship, but this one, in particular, had no way of being destroyed.

The laser was fired, and Star took the initiative by ducking. The problem with this was the laser was far too high to be able to hit her at the height she was standing at. However, the laser was aimed at the clearing up ahead.

And that's the same spot that Marco and Andrew were heading to.

"Wait, what," this caused Star to snap to when she made the realization that Marco and Andrew were caught in the crosshair of the laser that just fired. Star wasted no time in using her wings to zip quickly to her comrades, hopefully before they were struck. "MARCO, ANDREW, LOOKOUT!"

Both of them stopped and looked behind, which was a big mistake. They saw the red laser being fired at them and they had no time to react, as Star was closing in on them. The two of them quickly yelped and backpedaled, as Star managed to get them out of the way in the nick of time.

They had barely missed the laser impact, but now there was another problem present. They weren't walking on solid ground and they were about to plummet to their death…well, Marco was since he couldn't fly. Andrew was able to fly, but that's when the laser hit him. Star felt her heart right in her throat as her fear really kicked up this time. She flew towards them like no tomorrow as it was a matter of life or death. Both of her comrades started to fall off.

**"ARRRRGHHHHHHH!"**

The princess of Mewni was quick enough to bolt over and grab hold of what _felt_ like Marco and Andrew before she made it over the gap. Once he landed, she was barreling several feet ahead before stopping on her butt and then shaking her head. She had hoped that Marco and Andrew were beside her, but when she looked on both sides, her heart stopped once again.

"M-Marco, A-Andrew…?"

She realized that she _couldn't_ save them in time. Their lives were put in danger because of her and her recklessness and carelessness. And now because of her, they were _gone_, probably _**forever**_. What has she done?

She has committed several reckless acts in the past, especially during the time she stayed on Earth with Marco, but this time she really did it.

She then fell down to her knees, looked down and clenched her eyes shut. They were starting to get watery as she now had to grasp the fact that two of her best friends were _dead _and it was all her fault. She also regretted bringing them on this adventure which she felt was a big mistake. The tears started to drip as she now couldn't live with herself.

"I should have listened to you guys when you said that it was starting to get dangerous," Star cracked to herself.

"Oh, ya think," a male voice was heard from behind her.

This caused Star to jolt up with her eyes open and then looked behind her. She then saw Marco and Andrew had landed not next to her, but a few paces behind her. Marco was utterly terrified that he also fell and plummeted to his death, shown by him visibly shaking while Andrew seemed pretty smug for someone who almost died. Surprisingly, Andrew still had his hat on even though he was this close to plummeting to his death. Star turned around and faced them.

"W-What…But…you guys…?" Star stuttered.

"Wow, for someone who is so confident in her abilities," Andrew got up. "You sure did _underestimate __**yourself **_back there."

"But…how?"

"You caught us just before we fell," Andrew answered her. "Of course, you were in such a fear-struck hurry; your mind couldn't process what you were doing."

"I've never been thrown with so much force in my life," Marco shivered as he got up along with Andrew. Star then approached them and checked on Marco.

"Are you alright Marco?"

"Yes…I'm still shaken up by that…but yeah…"

Star gave a sigh in relief and gave both of them a hug before the tears came back as she felt ashamed for her reckless decision. "I'm sorry, you guys…I guess the idea of all three of us traveling on an adventure together for the first time in months blinded me from the danger and recklessness that I was putting you guys through," she then made her decision. "Guys, from here on out, I should go solo and not put you guys through anything else. I want to continue this journey alone."

"Sorry, but that's _not _going to happen," Andrew refused to stay on the sideline. "I've been dragged on this adventure long enough, so I might as well see how it ends here. And besides, it's like you said, there's no turning back."

"You don't have to apologize to us either Star," Marco grabbed her by the sides. "It's been fun being able to hang out with you again, isn't that right Andrew?"

"I guess, most of the time that is. But more importantly," Andrew became sincere with the Mewni princess. "Is that even though your antics can annoy me to no end, your still my friend Star, and I refuse to have you face Ludo alone, not after everything we've been through on this adventure."

"You see Star, both Andrew and I will be sticking with you until this journey finally comes to a proper close," Marco promised.

"That's right," Andrew agreed with him.

Star then wiped her eyes and gave them a rather sincere smile.

"Have I ever told you guys that you're the best," she asked them.

"It wouldn't kill you to say it more often," Andrew replied, which led to Star playfully punching him in the shoulder in return. With the near disaster behind them, though not entirely forgotten, Star then started escorting her two partners to the clearing.

"Let's go, Marco and Andrew, the party is just getting started," Star exclaimed with a smile on her face. "I have a feeling that Ludo will be crashing the party at any moment now, as are the rest of our friends."

For once, Marco and Andrew couldn't agree more. Both of them were looking forward to dealing with Ludo, the former being able to see Jackie and watch her fight once again, while the latter can call this adventure to an end once and for all.

That being said, _they _were looking at the end of their adventure right in the face…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 20!**

**YUP, THIS CHAPTER WAS DEFINITELY LONGER THAN MOST OF THE CHAPTERS, AND IT MAY BE THE LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE DONE FOR THIS STORY TO DATE! THIS WAS BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO SCURRYING TO THE FINAL DESTINATION, I HAVE WRITTEN SOME INSIGHTS AND BACK STORIES ON THE CHARACTERS THAT I HAVEN'T DONE FOR THIS STORY YET, SO EVERYONE IS GIVEN SOME FRESH DEPTH TO THEIR CHARACTERIZATION. AND AS FOR THE ENDING, IT WAS TO SHOW STAR THAT IN REALITY, HER RECKLESS ACTIONS CAN COME WITH DIRE CONSEQUENCES. IN THIS CASE, SHE ALMOST LOST TWO OF HER BEST FRIENDS! THAT'S TO SHOW HER HOW RECKLESS SHE CAN GET!**

**NOW WITH THIS EXPLAINED, YOU CAN REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE, AND I HOPE YOU'LL TUNE IN FOR THE BOSS CHAPTER NEXT TIME! **


	22. The Ludo Warrior

**CHAPTER 21-THE LUDO WARRIOR:**

* * *

Team Sparkle was actually the first team to have made it to the edge of the flagship where the clearing was, but the other teams weren't far behind. Daron had a grim look on her face with a burning ambition sparking through her eyes, knowing that Ludo was to show up at any minute. Pony Head was on a similar league to Daron by hollering for Ludo to show himself, and Jackie was more than prepared to take down Ludo if necessary.

The twelve heroes have been storming and trashing through battleships all day and whether the real Ludo shows up or not, he was bound to cause a scene sooner or later.

"Alright, where is he," Nebula roared as she made it to the scene with Janna and Upsilon, where Team Sparkle was. "I meant it, this ends now! FACE THE ULTIMATE LIFE FORM!"

"That jerk can't hide from us forever," Janna scoffed. She looked like she was trying to summon Ludo from the sky.

"No kidding there," Pony Head agreed. "That idiot better show up soon!"

"Yeah, we might as well stick around and deal with Ludo too," Tom stated, as he came to the scene along with Archibald and Buff Frog, joining the other two teams. "After all, Buff Frog had lost our way to…well, completing our final mission."

"Vee aren't lost, I just took a _vrong_ turn," Buff Frog protested. "But yeah, vee shall assist in fighting off Ludo too."

"That Ludo is going to be in for a big _surprise_ once he shows up," Star called out as she came to the scene along with Marco and Andrew. All four teams had regrouped together once again. "There's no way that Ludo would want to miss out on _crashing_ this party!"

"And how right you are, Princess Butterfly," Ludo's voice was heard echoing. Then right on cue, Ludo showed up to the scene, riding on that bat monster of his while observing the 12 heroes. "If I had known that I'd be the life of the party, I'd arrive _sooner_."

"Ludo," Jackie gasped before she curled her hands into fists.

"So you finally decided to show up," Pony Head glowered venomously.

"I guess you were right Star," Andrew smirked. "Looks like Ludo couldn't resist crashing this party after all!"

"You're calling _me_ a party crasher," Ludo's joking tone vanished entirely, replaced with that of fury. "You fools are the ones who were playing games with my army, and now you have trashed far too many of my battleships to be forgiven!"

"Yeah, and we'll finish trashing this flagship once we're done with you!" Star challenged, with a spark in her eyes.

"This is the end to your scheme," Marco remarked.

"That's telling him, Marco," Jackie backed him up, getting ready to fight.

"Your finished Ludo," Pony Head sneered.

Daron then glowered at Ludo with flames burning in her eyes. "It's your fault Star and I can never go on adventures! You'll regret this for the rest of your life!"

"Daron, Pony Head, Jackie-"

"Vell, vell, vell, it looks like vee are in jam Comrades," Buff Frog interrupted while letting out a snicker while leering at Ludo, more than ready to stop this plan.

"This is it, time to finally drag you down to the fiery pits of the Underworld once and for all!" Tom howled.

"Yeah, bring it on Ludo," Archibald made some fists.

"Tom, Archibald, Buff Frog-"

"That's it, no more of _this_ nonsense," Janna screamed, stopping the Avarian from finishing. "I've had it up to_ here_ with this ridiculous goose chase that you sent us on Ludo! It's time to finish this right here, right _**now**_**!"**

"Interception mode complete," Upsilon had drawn out his guns and aimed them right at Ludo, getting ready to fire.

"This is the end of the_ line_, Ludo," Nebula snarled, taking out her wand and pointing it at him in a threatening manner.

"Nebula, Janna, Upsilon-"

"This time, you won't get away from _any _of us, Ludo," Marco declared, getting into karate position while interrupting Ludo. "You're finished for good!"

"That's telling him, Marco," Andrew glowered at the Avarian, gritted his teeth and showed him a fist he made. "Give it up right now Ludo!"

"Well Ludo, this looks like _checkmate_ for you," Star had her wand out and her cheek marks were glowing. The Mewni princess was referring to how Ludo was outmatched by 12 heroes.

"Enough of this; Star, Marco, Andrew, ALL TWELVE OF YOU PESTS, **TIME TO MEET YOUR MAKER!" **Ludo bellowed before growling darkly. "I'll show you what _**real**__ evil_ is… HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Seeing how the Avarian was cackling, it was clear that he was up to something.

"Alright, this is it guys," Star told the other 11 heroes. "Do not hold anything back no matter what!"

All twelve heroes watched as the floor below them began to open up. A battle suit slowly emerged to the surface, and it was huge. It was a giant armored battle suit that was equipped with a shield and a sword. It strongly resembled the armor that the Mewni knights wear, but the helmet on top was shaped to look like Ludo's head. Ludo jumped off his bat monster, got into the armor suit that he fit into perfectly and the head closed shut. Now the Avarian had control of the shield and sword from the inside.

"Allow me to present to you fools the one, the only, the _LUDO_ _**WARRIOR! **_Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Ludo introduced to them.

Ludo then slammed the sword onto the ground, which caused a shockwave to send the 12 heroes back a bit. Nebula was the first to make the strike by unleashing a Dark Purple Lightning Spear at the armor, but the attack got deflected by the shield that was in front.

"Alright, so regular attacks won't work normally," Nebula deduced, landing onto the ground. "We'll have to get creative for this fight."

"We know the drill," Andrew announced. "We'll have to work together as a team, all _12_ of us."

"That's the spirit Andrew," Star beamed.

"Hey, guys look," Marco pointed to how Ludo was fleeing. "Ludo is getting away from us!"

Ludo was putting some distance between himself and the twelve heroes while using his sword to send out shockwaves into the air with some hope that he'll strike any of the 12 heroes opposing him.

"Marco's right," Jackie was standing next to the Latino. "Ludo is trying to escape from us!"

"Well, let's not just stand here," Tom proclaimed. "Let's go after him!"

The four teams then made pursuit after the Ludo Warrior, but they didn't count on the cannons that were lined up on both sides of the deck they were walking on. These cannons kept shooting at them while they were making chase.

Daron had to slide and duck from the horizontal shockwaves while Andrew spun around the vertical shock waves. Archibald and Upsilon had to fly and hover respectively over the cannonballs while Janna had to do somersaults over them, and Buff Frog leaped over them with ease. Meanwhile, Star decided to fire Rainbow Blasts at the cannons while Nebula fired her Dark Purple Lightning Spears at the cannons, with Pony Head joining in on taking out the cannons. The other heroes had to avoid anything that came in their path while chasing after Ludo.

"Coward," Nebula roared in anger, blasting down more cannons with her wand spells. "_Real evil_ **runs away** from his enemies? PATHETIC!"

"Easy there Nebula," Star tried to get her to simmer down while blasting another cannon with a Cupcake Blast. "I don't think he's running away…"

"He's leading us to an extended part of the flagship," Pony Head cried out as she went into the air and saw what was up ahead for them. It was a specifically designed platform where Ludo must have an ace in the hole.

"There is a wide gap right in front of us," Tom warned. "We have to get over it!"

All twelve heroes knew what they had to do. Star flew over and carried Marco in her hands while Andrew went in the air and glided after them, Nebula also went into the air and flew over with Janna in her hands as Upsilon activated his hover booster mode and hovered over the gap too, Pony Head went and grabbed both Daron and Jackie while getting them over the gap, Tom levitated, Archibald flew over, and Buff Frog was fortunate enough to make one giant leap over to the edge of the platform. He barely made it but Tom and Archibald helped him up, as did Andrew with the assistance of Marco, Jackie, and Janna to aid them too. Once they got to the platform, the Ludo Warrior finally stopped moving and prepared to battle against them.

"Now take this you runts," Ludo shouted, casting a barrage of shockwaves at the ground.

"Is that all that worthless hunk of armor can do," Upsilon was the first to act as he dodged the attack effectively. "Obviously it's a _prototype_!"

"_You're_ a prototype," Ludo howled, as he was even _more_ furious than before. Star caught onto that as Ludo lunged his sword towards the killer robot. It was then Andrew stepped in and slid right in front of Upsilon and clasped the sword between his two palms on his hands.

"I could've handled that pathetic strike all by my lonesome," Upsilon boomed. "I require no assistance from the likes of you, flesh worm!"

"Wow," Andrew blinked in surprised before huffing. "For a robot, you have quite an _ego_. Anyway, I've got his offense weapon tied down, so feel free to attack before I get impaled by this thing!"

"Why aren't you a _noble_ one Andy," Janna teased as she was being carried by Nebula with her hairdryer out. Once she was within range, Janna swung her hairdryer several times in the armored head, which left some dents. The Filipino jumped down and then kicked the head afterwards before she jumped down and got to the ground.

"Alright Ludo, have some of this: Dark Purple Fist Punch," Nebula fired one Dark Purple Fist Punch to the back side of the head, which did an equal amount of damage that Janna caused to it.

"Let's get back to business, shall we," Upsilon hummed. Andrew instantly knew what this meant as he wasn't about to be caught in the crosshair. As such, he released the sword and drill dug out of the way. This gave the Ludo Warrior a chance to fight again but was unable to when Upsilon fired everything he had on the armor. Andrew then resurfaced to the other side of the Ludo Warrior, where he delivers a brutal uppercut to the back, leaving a massive dent that got Ludo to scream.

"Now it's our turn to join the fray," Daron had her fake wand readied. "Are you willing to get me up close to the shoulder part of that armor Pony Head?"

"With pleasure sistah," Pony Head had Daron hang on while flying up close with Jackie joining below. Once she was up close, Daron jumped off and got ready to swing her fake wand into the back shoulder blade of the armor. She made direct contact while left some more dents in the suit. Pony Head then flew over to the back of the armor and fired several beams of magic energy from her horn. This left a burn on the back and was effective enough.

Meanwhile, Jackie got onto her skateboard, put on her helmet and circled around the Ludo Warrior several times to throw him off and get him confused. As Ludo was being assaulted by Upsilon, as well as Daron, Pony Head and Andrew, he also noticed what Jackie was doing.

"What are you doing now," Ludo bellowed.

Jackie only smirked as a result.

"You're about to find out for yourself, Ludo," in an instance, Jackie got behind and propelled from her skateboard like a catapult and then aimed a strong karate kick to the back of the armor. It was strong enough to cause the Ludo Warrior to be lurched forward, forcing Upsilon to cease fire on it. Marco was actually heard cheering for Jackie while Buff Frog then entered the fray with Tom and Archibald.

"Vee Demonstrix vill take over," Buff Frog signaled. "Let's have at it, comrades!"

"I'm more than ready Buff Frog," Tom created some fireballs in his hands.

"Let's show him," Archibald whooped.

Buff Frog made the first move by popping in some chewing prum into his mouth. Tom decided to hold off the Ludo Warrior by tossing fireballs at it while Buff Frog was chewing his prum. Buff Frog then blew several bubbles that were aimed right at the feet. Once they popped, the feet were unable to move, leading to the frog monster landing a punch or two on the exterior. Buff Frog then whistles for Archibald, where he then grabs him, holds him like a gun, and spun around the Ludo Warrior in all directions while Archibald spat acid all over the armor. This caused some serious damage to the exterior as did the next fireball that Tom unleashed on it. This caused Ludo to scream in pain at the attacks that were being done on the suit.

"Now it's our turn," Star turned to face Marco. "You ready to do this, Marco?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Marco nodded as Star grabbed him and flew him up close to the Ludo Warrior. Marco then jumped down to land a strike from behind while Star got to the chest and then fired a Rainbow Fist Punch, which was quickly followed with a Narwhal Blast. This did plenty of damage to the armor, as did the karate kick that Marco landed on the back.

Ludo couldn't believe it. He was being used as a punching bag by 12 heroes that were outmatching him. He had to take the initiative and make a surprise comeback.

The heroes noticed how the armor was weakening and they were impressed.

"Yahoo, we are doing well, aren't we Marco," Jackie whooped.

"Eh he, we sure are Jackie," Marco smiled nervously while being genuine about it.

"Yay, we're wearing this armor suit down," Daron cheered.

"You said it, Daron," Star sounded hyped too.

"Ha, it's not over yet you troublesome fools," Ludo boomed. "I've got an ace up my sleeve and now it's time to put it into action."

It was then Ludo turned the tables on the 12 heroes by getting the Ludo Warrior to glow a bright yellow before dashing forward and knocking over all twelve of them like bowling pins. Janna and Daron managed to land on their feet while Star, Nebula, Andrew, Pony Head, Tom, and Archibald caught themselves in the air to float back down. Although it's worth noting that this impact caused Andrew's hat to be sent flying off his head. But it was Janna who grabbed it and placed it back onto his head. All five of them were undeterred as was Upsilon, but it was Marco, Jackie and Buff Frog who got the worst of the impact. Tom caught Buff Frog with his telekinesis before he went flying off the edge, while Pony Head dashed in to catch Jackie. Marco was saved by Upsilon; the _last _person who would save Marco or _**anyone**_ that wasn't Nebula or Janna.

As the twelve of them retained their ground, Upsilon dashed over to even the score with Ludo while Marco was given assistance by Star, Andrew, and Jackie. The killer robot got a better angle of Ludo.

"Must exterminate and destroy," Upsilon blared while firing away with everything he got. Unfortunately, Ludo just took it and cackled since the bullets weren't damaging the armor anymore. Upsilon stopped firing away when he realized that this was futile. Unluckily, this gave Ludo the upper hand as the Ludo Warrior lashed forward once again, and smacked Upsilon away like a common housefly with the side of his sword.

"UPSILON!" Nebula and Janna cried out to their robotic teammate as they rushed over to assist him. As Andrew snarled and threw himself onto the Ludo Warrior, Ludo deflected it before smacking him away too. It seemed that Ludo pulled a curveball on the heroes since none of their normal attacks were working anymore, and he seemed to have gotten the upper hand.

"Vow," Buff Frog croaked. "Ludo seems to have taken _difficulty spike_ all of a sudden…"

"What are we going to do now," Pony Head was panicking. "None of our normal attacks work on this fiend anymore!"

"I'm surprised that he hasn't pulled another distance on us," Daron shivered as Team Dread managed to regroup with the other teams.

"Yeah dudes, this is going to be harder than I thought," Jackie said honestly.

"I agree, so what should we do now?" Marco was concerned.

"There's only one thing we can do," Star proclaimed. "We'll have to use our most powerful attacks."

This got the 11 other heroes to gasp at what Star was suggesting.

"Uh Star, are you sure that'll work," Daron stuttered.

"Yeah, would that be risky if all four teams do that, _mayor?_" Janna asked as Upsilon was blaring about unleashing revenge ten-fold on Ludo.

"Especially if we all have to listen to the Demonstrix perform a _god-awful _'concert' for all of us," Nebula grunted, which got Upsilon's attention, as well as Buff Frog's.

"Vho you calling _god-awful_," Buff Frog growled, not appreciating the insult one bit.

"YOU'RE _RECITALS_, THAT'S WHAT!" Nebula yelled in his face.

"I'll have ya know that our recitals are as effective as everything else," Buff Frog barked. "And at least vee don't do overkill like you and your group of barbarians."

"What did you say," Nebula curled her fists and sneered.

"You heard him," Archibald flew right next to Buff Frog. "He called your group a BUNCH OF **BARBARIANS!"**

"Uh, Buff Frog," Tom intervened and voices his opinion. "You have to admit, our concerts do leave our audience with deaf ears, and I can't understand why I have to play that electric guitar."

"Well I enjoy our recitals," Archibald protested.

"Uh to be perfectly honest Tom," Marco butted in and got his attention. "You're not the kind of person that I'd expect to play an electric guitar anyway."

This got Tom to snort and roll his eyes.

"Huh, I'd expect you to say something like that Marco," he huffed. "Considering that I was the one who placed that Naysaya curse on you that one time, remember?"

That reminder caused Marco to go white in the face. He remembered that day perfectly. That had to be the most humiliating day of his life, and he had to blurt out all of his insecurities where everyone around him could hear just so he could ask out Jackie. He really didn't want to relive that day, but Tom continued.

"You remember who Naysaya is right," Tom blurted out. "He's that neck guy that emerged on your neck and forced you to blurt out all of your insecurities so you could get rid of it. Yes, I was the one who did that to you."

"THAT **WAS** _**YOU!?" **_That response came from Jackie; the last person who would have ever gotten mad as she yelled. This caused everyone to jump, including Ludo who ceased attacking out of shock from seeing Jackie rather furious. Jackie stomped over in front of Marco and looked Tom dead in the eye. Not standing there was the cool collected calm skateboarder chick, but a very furious one that happened as a result of what she overheard.

"_You _were the _one_ who caused that thing to emerge on Marco's neck, which humiliated him and forced him to blurt out all of his _insecurities_ in front of the _whole_ school?!"

Yes, Jackie was angry, and Tom held his arms up in defense.

"Whoa, hold it," he defended. "In my defense, I only did that so he wouldn't ask Star out!"

Jackie shook that off and continued her rant.

"It doesn't matter! That still doesn't excuse you for doing such a thing," she sneered. "Do you know what kind of _humiliation_ you put Marco through, just so he could ask _me_ to go out with him!? It's one thing to have him tell that stuff to_ me_ since I can handle it, but when there were other students that weren't Star or Janna in the outside portion of the school that overheard it, that was totally _uncalled_ for! You should be ashamed for putting him through that struggle!"

Marco was nervous as he didn't know what to think. Yes, Jackie was furious and he never saw her angry before, not even after he broke her skateboard. Of course, that was an accident and he didn't mean it, plus Jackie knows that Marco is a nice guy. At the same time, he was also unsure if he should be _awing_ at how Jackie was sticking up for him. He was feeling a bunch of emotions flowing through him all at once.

"Uh…J-Jackie…" he said nervously.

Jackie didn't hear him as she was getting through with her rant.

"How _dare _you put Marco through so much humiliation," Jackie snapped, with Tom jumping at how _angry_ she was. Tom was about to make a retort, but Archibald beat him to it.

"Oh please, that Naysaya chump is nothing compared to this barbaric bucket of bolts over here," the gargoyle pointed to Upsilon, clearly wanting a death wish from all this.

**"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BARBARIC BUCKET OF BOLTS, YOU INSOLENT WORM WITH WINGS!?" **Upsilon didn't like that insult and boomed angrily.

"Guys, maybe we ought to cool it," Daron tried to get them focused.

"Yeah," Andrew agreed. "Don't you think we're getting a little carried away with this argument?"

Janna then stepped in and decided to mess with Andrew.

"Heh, you know, I ought to place a curse on _you, _Andrew. One that'll humiliate you until you ask _me_ out on a date," Janna smirked devilishly.

"_YOU BETTER NOT START ANYTHING, WOMAN!"_ Andrew roared angrily.

"Oh yes," Janna snickers and comments. "I would love for you to be put through humiliation until you ask me out on a date."

As Janna chuckled at that, Andrew gritted his teeth and growled.

"I swear Janna, if you do _anything_ of the sort, I'm gonna-"

**"THAT'S ENOUGH EVERYONE!" **That came from Pony Head, who wanted the arguing to stop and got their attention.

"Look at you, arguing about petty things, and they say _I'm_ the one who argues about stupid stuff," Pony Head called them out. "In case you've forgotten, we're in the middle of a battle here!"

This got Jackie to calm down as she was laughing nervously.

"Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry Pony Head," she apologized. "And I'm _sorry_ you had to see that Marco…"

"It's fine Jackie, but Pony Head is right," Marco nodded. "We are wasting time while we're in the middle of a battle here."

"They're both right," Star punched a fist into her palm and came up with how this should be done. "Okay, here's how it should work: Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie can start by doing Invincibility Glitter to keep Ludo distracted. Then the Demonstrix can put on their Monster Recital, which is something he can't stand, and if he's distracted by Daron's crew, he won't be prepared."

"Alright, I think I understand where this is going," Tom mused.

"Same with me," Daron chirped.

"Please continue if you may," Nebula wanted Star to continue her plan.

"Right, and then while Ludo is trying to stop the Demonstrix, Nebula can use her Miracle Levitato and Janna can use that dark spell to plague Ludo's mind of spooky stuff while the robot stalls him with that big pink laser."

"It's an inferno beam, you inferior worm," Upsilon pointed out, getting Star to smack her forehead.

"Whatever, and finally, after that attack has the Ludo Warrior on its last leg, Marco, Andrew and I will perform the Star Butterfly Overdrive to finish him off." Star finished up.

"Yeah, that sounds excellent B-Fly," Pony Head acclaimed.

"I'm surprised that you came up with that," Andrew remarked.

"Still, it's a radical plan Star," Jackie complimented.

"Yeah, I think it's radical too, Jackie," Marco chuckled nervously.

"Uh excuse me, are you fools just about done bickering and planning," Ludo got their attention. "In case you've forgotten, I won't go down that easily!"

Ludo then swooped down with his Ludo Warrior suit and aimed another strike at them. Fortunately, they managed to avoid getting struck by it.

"Of course we haven't forgotten," Janna scowled as they dodged the attack.

"So are we going to do this?" Archibald questioned.

"Anytime your ready, Star Butterfly," Buff Frog told her, which Star returned with a smile.

"Great, let's do this!" Star ignited as the plan was now in session.

The heroes stared at Team Sparkle, which cued Daron, Pony Head and Jackie to put Invincibility Glitter in action. Daron was smiling as she got out her fake wand and spun it. Pony Head started letting loose that magic from her horn as Jackie got out her skateboard and put on her helmet. They were all in front of the Ludo Warrior as they did this

"Alright girls, we got to put an end to this, so let's give him all we got," Daron declared as she danced like a ballerina and spun her wand around like _Sailor Moon. _"My dedication to Star Butterfly is undeniably powerful!"

Star gave Daron an encouraging smiled as Pony Head had shot some strange magic from her horn, complete with rainbows and glitter.

"Yeah, you will regret ever messing with us Ludo," the floating unicorn head sneered. "And you will pay for stealing our stuff too!"

"We've got _this_ dudes and dudettes," Jackie was just about ready to ride on her skateboard.

In a matter of seconds, a bang came from Pony Head's horn, which caused their surroundings to be covered in seashells and flowers. Pony Head and Jackie were rotating around Daron in both directions while the nerdy fan girl kept her fake wand to her face. Just as they predicted, this got Ludo's full attention as he had a bewildered expression on his face.

"What the heck was _that_," he laughed it off. "Was that supposed to be some kind of _attack_?"

"Not really," Daron smirked as she along with Pony Head and Jackie were now given invincibility for a short time while surrounded by glitter. Daron had her fake wand our and ran over to smack the Ludo Warrior with it, and this was followed by Pony Head shooting her magic from her horn and Jackie doing karate chops on it. It _still_ didn't leave behind any dents, but it was strong enough to rattle Ludo within.

Now furious, Ludo swatted the three girls away, but none of them were affected by that blow. In fact, they showed that they were completely unscathed.

"What the…?" Ludo was perplexed by this.

"Looks like we're just as invincible as you are Ludo," Daron smirked. "If not more if I do say so myself..."

"You pests, I'll crush you!" Ludo barked.

By then, their invincibility wore off and they feel that they kept Ludo distracted, so their job was accomplished.

"And that's our cue girls, let's roll," Daron pointed to Pony Head and Jackie, which cued the Demonstrix to set up their Monster Recital.

"That's what you get for messing with us," Pony Head sassed, floating off after Daron.

"This could have been avoided Ludo if you had just given us back the medallion and the seashell necklace," Jackie told him thoughtfully before skateboarding after her team.

"Never," Ludo roared, holding his sword in place. "I'm not going to do _that_! In fact, I'm going to continue being evil, no matter what!"

Marco frowned as he said that. Not only did he ignore what Jackie said, but from the last time he talked to him before this three day quest, all the bets really were off and he had retired from evil. Star was looking a bit perplexed by this sudden behavior from Ludo as well.

"Hmmm…"

Nearby, the Demonstrix were putting phase two in place as Buff Frog had that microphone out and spoke into it.

"This is vhere going gets tough, and that means vee must get tough too," Buff Frog told his partners. "Don't let the guard down; let's make Ludo regret he ever started fight vith us!"

"Yeah, it's Judgement Day," Archibald cried out with the marching drum in his hands. This got him a bewildered look from Tom. "It's time for us to wrap this up!"

"Now to truly banish you to the fiery pits of the Underworld Ludo," Tom got out that electric guitar and started strumming it.

Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie ran in front of the Demonstrix, just in time for Ludo to see them center stage. As Team Sparkle went to the other teams, Ludo glowered from the Ludo Warrior suit and sneered.

"What are you three up to," he growled dangerously, pointing his sword at them.

"Oh just _strumming_ up justice," Tom cringed at the pun he made as they started to perform a poorly-made rendition of _Smells Like Teen Spirit_.

"Yeah, and I'm going to hurt you real good," cried Archibald, banging on the drums. "You'll get to get drum up like it's never been drummed before!"

They then made such a racket with the poor cover version of the song, that it not only made Ludo howl in agony, but it did the same for Marco, Jackie, Janna and the rest of them as well…all except for Star.

"I actually like them," Star smiled, shouting over the racket. This got Andrew to groan and shake his head.

"Of course you would," he grumbled.

"Yeah," Marco agreed. "Considering how you can handle Oskar's _horrid_ keyboard playing!"

"Hey, that's a great idea," Star chirped. "Maybe the Demonstrix should form a band with Oskar Greason and Glossaryk!"

"Don't give them any ideas Star," Marco groaned and shuddered, remembering the whole 'bicycle' fiasco.

The Ludo Warrior meanwhile, was whirling around violently. Ludo had to cover his ears since the racket was getting to him. It only got _worse_ when Buff Frog started singing the chorus to the aforementioned song.

"_With the lights out, it's less dangerous! Here we are now, entertain us…"_

"Argh," Ludo moaned, trying to take care of the problem at hand as he swung at Buff Frog. The Demonstrix held tight to their instruments and made a run for it, while they continued playing. "Make it stop!"

"_A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido…!" _

"Okay, I take it _back_," Star started scratching her ears. "I was way off about them. They don't even have a bassist to play the song."

"Their song is causing us deafness and all you care about is how they don't have a bassist?" Andrew was irritated.

"Uh, yeah…?" Star smiled.

"Ugh," Andrew facepalmed.

"I know," Nebula mumbled in agreement, getting her green Miracle Gemstone out. "I'm just going to go on ahead if that's okay with you guys."

The others all nodded in agreement.

"_A denial, a denial, a denial, a…"_

"BUFF FROG," Tom yelled for him to stop. "It's really bad when your _own_ band members can't stand performing that _grungy_ song!"

"At least not a cover version by Buff Frog," Archibald added.

"Finally, you boys stopped long enough for me to finish you," yelled Ludo who was already in mid-attack. Buff Frog, however, was pretty satisfied with the result.

"Great vork today comrades," he praised them.

"Alright, now our work is done," Archibald was ecstatic, and their song was over.

Ludo was proceeding to finish his attack on the Demonstrix, but Upsilon came in and shoved his weapon away.

"Now it's time for you to face _**real evil**_ Ludo," the robot blared, already activating his inferno blaster and was much closer to his revenge.

"I must thank you for the supernatural artifact Ludo," Janna smirked, having that dark spell book opened to that one page. "I'll be picking it up and claiming it as mine once you've been squared away."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Ludo defied, creating another shockwave for the dreadful team. It flew at a considerable pace, but it suddenly froze where it was. This was thanks to Nebula who flew right in Ludo's face and had the green Miracle Gemstone and the wand in both hands.

"You'll go no further, Ludo," Nebula chuckled darkly before she tossed the gemstone into her wand. "Miracle _Levitato!_"

"Here we go; Ominous Dreadful Black Magic Wave Blast!"

Once that was done, the other heroes watched in awe as Ludo and his shockwave were stalled in time, and that black smog clouded Ludo's mind, filling it with grim dark images. These two distractions lasted long enough for Upsilon to activate the inferno blaster on the Ludo Warrior. Upon contact, the armor was starting to peel away and it was becoming much weaker. It was just as Star had assumed.

Once the inferno blast was complete, but Miracle Levitato and Ominous Dreadful Black Magic Wave Blast were still in effect, Upsilon felt the need to make the announcement.

"Large Ultimate Battle Armor Suit: _Almost_ Destroyed!"

"In that case, it's time to _finish_ it," Star cued both Marco and Andrew to follow her lead as Team Dread went back with the other heroes. However, the effects of both moves wore off, and Ludo managed to shake off the ghostly images and whirled around, with the sword sweeping Star, Marco, and Andrew off their feet.

"Enjoying the party Star Butterfly," the Avarian snickered, as he was enjoying having the upper hand. "I really am the life of the party, am I?"

"Pffft, in your dreams," Star snorted. "We're the _Stars_ of this party!"

"Okay Star, enough with the puns," Andrew demanded while returning to his feet and punching the air. "Let's see what you've got Ludo!"

"We are unbeatable," Marco exclaimed. "You might as well give up Ludo!"

"Out of my sight," Ludo suddenly roared, casting a barrage of shockwaves in their direction. Star jumped and flew over them in the air, as Marco sidestepped them with Andrew in his grasp. Once they returned to the ground, they swapped positions and were about to put Star Butterfly Overdrive into overdrive. Andrew grabbed Marco who grabbed Star as the Mewni princess got her wand out and ready to use. They then started to spin around several times in a row.

"We are so _close_ to winning this," Star cheered as she was spun around.

Andrew then hollered as he then released Marco and Star. Marco then cheered as he then delivered a swift kick towards Star, giving her the boost to skyrocket all around the Ludo Warrior.

"**BLAST AWAY!"**

Star zipped around all the parts of the Ludo Warrior, as a bunch of cutesy bugs, diamonds, narwhals, rainbows, cupcakes, and mini unicorns pierced right through the armor and was slowly finishing it off. It was then Star stopped right above the Ludo Warrior suit as she then came crashing down with the wand being ready to stab through it like a sword.

"And now here comes the _real_ grand finale: **THERMONUCLEAR BUTTERFLY BLAST!"**

It was all over then, for once the attack landed on the armor, the explosion caused the Ludo Warrior to finally be put down as Ludo was heard wailing and shrieking at the top of his lungs by this defeat.

"Yeah, the three of us…or should I say the _twelve_ of us are unstoppable," Andrew did an air fist, getting the other heroes to holler as well.

"D-Defeated…IMPOSSIBLE…_**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**__"_

Ludo didn't even attempt to get out as the Ludo Warrior started to crumble into pieces as Ludo was knocked out into unconsciousness. The 12 heroes were starting to cherish this victory, with Jackie expressing how happy she was with Marco until they noticed something wrong with the Ludo that was in front of them.

This Ludo was also a fake since it then melted into a silver pile of goop.

The members of Team Dread, Team Sparkle and the Demonstrix all gawked at the sight of this, as did Marco and Andrew. Star, however, did not feel it would be a good time to gape at the fake Ludo goop. Star got her partners and informed them about how they still have to take care of the power core. They had this good feeling that the other teams will be able to get off safely before the flagship loses altitude. However, because this was the sky dimension with no landing area, this may not happen, and it'll only be possible if they entered another dimension with a landing area. Still, they wanted to make sure they would be okay.

Star looked over one more time to stare at the goopy mess one last time.

"Great party Ludo, and thanks for inviting all twelve of us," she hummed with a smirk. She got her partners to follow her as soon as Marco got a smooch on the lips by Jackie, and Andrew got a playful elbow from Janna, much to his dismay. Team Star had to take care of business since they victoriously did what they had to do, unaware that something else was still lurking in the shadows…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 21! **

**YEAH, I THINK THIS WAS A GREAT BATTLE AGAINST LUDO IN THAT KNIGHT ARMOR SUIT THAT HE USED! I LIKED HOW ALL 12 HEROES POOLED IN TOGETHER JUST TO TAKE DOWN LUDO ONCE AND FOR ALL.**

**I BELIEVE I DID A GOOD JOB WITH THIS CHAPTER! THERE'S STILL A FEW MORE CHAPTERS LEFT THOUGH! **

**WELL, I DO HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER! OTHERWISE, YOU CAN REVIEW THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER TO COME OUT!**


	23. The End of a Three Day Quest

**CHAPTER 22-THE END OF A 3 DAY QUEST:**

* * *

"_Unicorn magic **and** Mermaid magic data…has been copied…"_ A robotic voice said from nowhere.

Daron with Pony Head and Jackie saw Ludo having turned into silver goop, just like the fake one did in the canyon dimension. Even after the three of them with Team Star, Team Dread and the Demonstrix fought so diligently hard with the final battle, it turns out this Ludo was a fake too. They weren't surprised by this though, as this was expected. As Pony Head and Jackie hoped that they could find their belongings, a miracle has happened. Two objects surfaced from the silver goop that was once the fake Ludo. These objects were revealed to be Pony Head's medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace heirloom, as it was expected. Both of them were psyched to have finally found their belongings.

"GURLS, ITS MAH MEDALLION!" Pony Head cried out in joy, grabbing the medallion with her mouth by the chain necklace.

"And it's my seashell necklace too," Jackie was pretty excited too as she grabbed her seashell necklace. "I'm glad I finally found it after being parted from it for three days!"

Pony Head put the medallion chain necklace over her neck while Jackie put back on her seashell necklace and it was back to where it should be. Both of them were relishing their accomplishments by finding their belongings again. Daron was smiling in awe as she crossed her hands, feeling good about helping both of them out with finding their stuff. This was the kind of thing Star Butterfly would have done, and Daron was willing to follow in her footsteps by doing the right thing and helping them out. And now that they finally have their stuff back, Daron had something to be proud of.

"I'm so happy that you two finally got your stuff back," Daron admitted with a sincere smile on her face while watching them enjoying their victory and success. This was something that Daron had to be proud of and it was one accomplishment that she would never forget. And the best part was she didn't even get kidnapped or held hostage once, _excluding_ the incident in the Casino Dimension. This was quite the improvement from where she was five months ago.

Pony Head had Daron to thank for this since she never would have gotten this far without her. The same goes for Jackie too. They both owed her for getting them through this quest.

Thankfully, their way of returning the favor was accessible when they both saw Star Butterfly in the distance.

"Hey Daron," Pony Head got her attention. "Isn't that B-Fly over there?"

Daron looked at where Pony Head was facing and she did see Star Butterfly with her two partners.

"Well dudette, since you helped us find our stuff," Jackie smiled. "We think that you can go and spend time with Star."

"Yeah, we won't hold you back," Pony Head chimed. "Go spend some time with B-Fly!"

"You got it, girls," Daron then went in a sprint and ran for her. "HEY STAR, WAIT FOR ME!"

As she headed for her idol, the floating unicorn head and skateboarder girl were smiling at the display. Pony Head then noticed that Marco was with Star too. Seeing that Jackie is her partner and should be able to have what she wants, the floating unicorn head made the suggestion.

"Hey Jackie gurl, I think that Earth Dude Marco is over there too," Pony Head pointed to him. "I think you should spend some time with him since you _like_ him."

"That's a great idea Pony Head," said Jackie, smiling at her courtesy. "I'm going to do it."

"Then go for it gurl," shouted Pony Head.

Jackie only nodded as she decided to walk over and spend some time with Marco, with her seashell necklace in tow. Pony Head felt good about helping them out to their goals, and so she decided to check out the flagship some more by herself, with her medallion chain necklace never leaving her neck…

* * *

Thanks to Marco being able to steer and pilot the flagship, he managed to get the flagship from losing altitude and then exploding while killing all 12 of them aboard. The flagship had also ended up in another dimension; this one was still high in the sky, but the flagship they were on ended up being grounded to a mountain of some kind. As soon as the ship ended up in that dimension, Team Star witnessed all the other battleships that ended blowing up and crashing down to the deep abyss below. Star and her friends treated this as a firework show for their achievement. They weren't worried about the ship they were on blowing up though since it was grounded to the mountain top and wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The bottom line is that they were glad it was all _over_.

"Wow," Andrew was the first to comment. "Talk about cutting it close, right Star?"

"Eh, not really," Star said nonchalantly.

"Oh come on now, Star," the treasure hunter said in a teasing manner. "Tell me you _weren't _scared. If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have had a chance."

"Well…" Star fished around for a retort to use in that instance, but gave up trying when she realized that he was entirely right about what he said. "…maybe your right; Thanks for the help, Andrew."

The look on Andrew's face showed that he was not expecting that reaction at all. The Mewni princess then turned to face the Latino on her other side.

"The same goes for _you_, Marco."

Marco then rubbed the back of his head out of flatter and chuckled lightly.

The three of them then stood there together for a minute or so before they heard Daron calling out for Star in the distance.

"HEY STAR, THERE YOU ARE, WAIT UP!"

Surely enough they saw Daron heading directly for her idol. This got Star to spark up in the eyes, knowing what this meant for her.

"I'll be right there Daron," she called back before facing Marco and Andrew. "Sorry you two, but I _gotta_ split. I don't wanna keep my number one biggest fan waiting for me!"

With that, Star darted straight for Daron as she then scooped her up and the both of them giggled. They decided to check out the place together as Marco and Andrew watched this and laughed at how much fun they were having.

"And there she goes, with her _favorite_ fangirl," Marco joked.

"I agree, I never met a bigger fangirl that's dedicated to Star Butterfly in my entire life," Andrew chuckled as he shook his head.

"You know Andrew, I enjoyed traveling on this quest with you and Star," the Latino admitted. "I was happy to do it for the first time in 5 months."

"You know something, Marco, I have to agree with you," Andrew agreed. "Even though Star got on my nerves with her antics, it _was_ a nice change of pace with going on this journey with you two, after being cooped up on my island for most of my time."

"I know what you mean Andrew," Marco sighed as he saw Star and Daron leave. He shook his head and started to think about something. "Andrew, I have to confess, sometimes I wish I had a fangirl who would enjoy me for who I am and nothing else."

Andrew nodded at that statement when he saw a certain _someone_ approaching them and smiled.

"Well Marco, I think you _do_ have _one_, and she's coming this way," Andrew smirked.

"What, where," Marco jolted before Andrew pointed in the direction that someone was coming in. When he saw who it was, his eyes grew and his heart started pounding.

"Hey Marco," it was Jackie, and she wanted to spend time with him. "Is it alright if we spend some time together?"

"Yes, yes Jackie," Marco nodded. "I would_ love_ that."

"Okay you two, I'll leave you guys alone," Andrew took to the air. "I'll see you guys later."

Both of them gave their farewells to Andrew who decided to explore the flagship some more by his lonesome. Once they were alone, Jackie grabbed Marco's hands as she smiled at him.

"Hey Jackie," Marco noticed that she had her seashell necklace back on. "I see you finally found your seashell necklace again, didn't you?"

"Yes I did Marco," Jackie nodded. "And I'm glad that I finally have it back after being parted from it for 3 days. I hope I don't lose it again."

"No worries, Jackie because if someone else tries to _steal_ it, I'll knock some sense into them," Marco tried to sound tough which only made him sound like a dork. This caused Jackie to giggle at how _cute_ he was being.

"Oh Marco Diaz, your too _adorable _for your good," she admitted, getting him red in the face when she kissed him on the cheek. "The way you act like a total _dork_ is one of the things that I **admire** most about _you_, Marco."

"I…I know I am J-Jackie," he stuttered, as butterflies were forming in his stomach.

There was something else that Jackie needed to share with him, and it involved her outburst towards Tom earlier.

"Hey uh…Marco," she started. "Uh, about that outburst I had earlier with that Tom demon guy, I want to say that I'm sorry that you had to see me as angry as I was. I had no intention of getting that angry."

"Jackie, I already told you, I'm not mad about that," Marco reassured. "It wasn't a big deal. I was just surprised to see you angry when most of the time, your cool collected, calm and such a chill kind of girl who rarely, if _ever_, gets angry."

"Okay, you got me there Marco," she admitted. "It's just that something set me off by what he said and it caused me to snap when I shouldn't have."

"Perhaps you were just concern for me and wanted to show how much you care about me," Marco said in a rather suggestive tone before it got replaced with him stuttering by what he said. "Wait, that's not what I meant…I mean uh…You just…oh…what I…what I meant to say was that you were just…"

"Relax dude, I know what you _meant_," Jackie assured him as she was blushing by what he said. "And I believe you're right. I do _care_ about you 100%."

"I…I would do the same thing for you too if you were in my shoes," Marco admitted.

"Aww dude," she was seriously blushing now. "That's wicked _rad _to know. And the reason I don't get mad at you Marco when you do something wrong is that you _never_ mean to do it, like how you broke my skateboard. That was an accident. Plus, you're a really _sweet_ guy who is considerate about others even when you don't have to be."

"I think I know that by now Jackie," Marco blushed as she kissed him on the nose. "Thank you for being supportive of me."

"It should be _me_ who should be thanking _you_ for being supportive of _me_," Jackie told him. "I'm glad that we have each others' backs, Marco."

"Me too Jackie," he smiled warmly.

They decided to check out the rest of the flagship for themselves while they were still there.

"So anyway dude, when we go back to Echo Creek, what do you say that the both of us chill together and feed each other pizza nuggets, as my treat?"

"I would love that Jackie. That would mean the world to me."

"I knew it would," the skateboarder chick kissed him right on the mouth. "You're the _best _Marco."

"Same goes for _you_ Jackie," the karate fighting expert said.

The two of them were happy to spend time together and have fun by reading each other's minds. After spending the last three days fighting off monsters and having to stop Ludo from succeeding with his evil plot of universal conquest, they deserve the break and to have some fun together, just the two of them…

* * *

Team Dread had also witnessed the fake Ludo turning into silver goop. They also saw Pony Head and Jackie pick up their prized possessions and relishing them. Upsilon, however, was glad that he seemingly accomplished one thing; getting revenge.

**"LUDO TARGET: _COMPLETELY_ DESTROYED!"** Upsilon blasted, not caring if it was a fake or not. Both the killer robot and Nebula looked at the silver goop in awe and admiration.

Janna, on the other hand, walked off, having enough of foolishness, lies, and a stupid goose chase that Ludo sent them on. Now her mind was set on one thing and one thing only: Ludo's secret supernatural artifact.

She entered a top-secret containment room in the flagship as she felt that the artifact was in there somewhere.

"Alright, now that that's been taken care of, let's find that secret artifact," Janna said with confidence.

The first time Janna thought she found the artifact, she found Nebula.

The second time Janna thought she found the artifact, she had found a bunch of Nebulas; Nebula Androids to be exact.

Janna jaw dropped and gasped at all the Nebula Androids that were being kept in all the capsules lined up side by side. Janna was in shock as if she felt that the line went on forever. This was just the kind of thing she'd expect from a Sci-Fi Horror Movie when aliens were taken in for experimentation by the government to do some horrid things. Now she felt that the Nebula on her team was one of the many androids in the room, seeing that they were each sleeping in the same manner Nebula was when she found her. But that still didn't make sense. All the Nebula Androids she just found were in this room together, and yet, the Nebula she had traveled with was in a capsule in a top-secret room in Ludo's castle. Something just didn't add up.

As she was keeping herself from fainting and contemplating this further, someone else stepped into the room with two metallic thuds. Janna had though the real Ludo found her spying on the androids, or if Nebula followed her into here, which would have been a big mistake.

However, the person who entered was Upsilon. Much to her relief, Upsilon had readied his weapons and was planning on destroying all the capsules and androids in plain sight.

"Preparing to destroy the immediate designated area," Upsilon declared as he was getting himself ready for the destruction.

This didn't come as a surprise to her. However, she did have one thing that she wanted to share with the robot before he goes gung-ho on all the androids in the room.

"Hey, Upsilon," Janna said meekly, getting Upsilon's attention. "Did…I ever tell you…that Nebula is possibly an android…and uh…uh…"

She just couldn't do it. It made her too upset, so she decided to drop it.

"Oh, you know what, nevermind. Good luck with destroying the androids," Janna just waved off with a frown still on her face.

Fortunately, Upsilon picked this up quickly with his sensors and understood what she was feeling. As such, he gave her his sympathy.

"You know _something_ about cloning," he assured her, getting ready to open fire. "The original must exist elsewhere…"

It was amazing how much a killer robot could pick up Janna's spirit as she walked away with a smirk on her face, allowing Upsilon to commit destruction on all the androids in the room.

Sometime later, Janna was back outside the flagship as she saw Nebula still standing on the deck. Nebula didn't mind her presence one bit, as Janna felt the need to let out exactly how upset she was for being misled.

"All this traveling for what…_nothing,_" she complained.

That caused something in Nebula to click as she reacted appropriately.

"What do you mean this traveling was _all for nothing_," Nebula yelled. "If it wasn't for _you_, I wouldn't have gotten out of that capsule, Upsilon wouldn't be out and having destroyed that fake Ludo, and we wouldn't have gotten this far!"

Janna suddenly jumped at what Nebula said. But what made it surprising was that she was right about what she said. She had gotten Nebula and Upsilon to their destination and finally took care of Ludo, even if it was a fake.

"Yeah, I guess you have a _point_ Nebula," she chuckled sheepishly.

"And besides, that secret artifact you're looking for might not have even existed," Nebula pointed out. "The artifact that you heard about that Ludo had possession of was just a sham and a phony just to get your attention. If I'm not mistaken, the secret artifact that you must have heard about was probably _me_. Ludo kept me in that top-secret room for a reason, and the only way you would have found out about it would be if something had slipped right underneath the cracks."

Janna nodded and saw that she was telling the truth.

"I guess your right Nebula," she smiled. "I did _enjoy_ traveling with you and Upsilon on this quest, despite the difficulties at first."

"Yeah, I guess it was alright too, even if I still don't know much about myself."

Janna nodded in understanding and decided to drop it and settle on something different.

"Oh well, I might as well mess with that handsome treasure hunter Andrew for a bit, since he's here," she sounded quite happy when she said that, as Nebula just smirked.

"Heh," Nebula walked alongside her. "Some things never change, don't they?"

"What are you saying, how else am I suppose to have some fun by teasing a _cute_ guy like Andrew," Janna shrugged off her comment before she took a double-take.

Wait a minute, what did Nebula just say?

She stared at her companion as if she saw a ghost. She never recalled telling Nebula who Andrew was, let alone recalling Nebula ever actually interacting with Andrew alone. She had no idea how she figured out about her Andrew endeavor from 5 months ago. So how did_ she_ figure that one out?

"Uh Janna, why are you staring at me like that," Nebula got her attention. "I can't be _that _attractive, am I?"

This got Janna to blush at what Nebula was implying. She shook it off and grinned.

"Oh it's nothing Nebula, absolutely nothing," Janna smirked.

Even if her memories weren't real, they were all that she had, and even if she wasn't real, existing in this lifetime, it was still her; Nebula Dragonfly...Even if it was just her imagination.

Just then, Nebula stopped when she saw someone nearby, who she assumed was the guy that Janna was looking for.

"Hey Janna, I'd hate to intrude on whatever it is your thinking about," she started. "But I _think_ I see the guy that you're looking for in the distance."

Nebula pointed and Janna did see who it was. It was Andrew, and he was all by himself. After allowing Marco and Jackie to spend some time alone, Andrew was just exploring the place alone to see what there is to see, though it wasn't going to be like that for long.

This caused Janna's eyes to spark and she got excited.

"Yes, that's him," Janna smirked. "Sorry to leave you like this, but that man needs me to mess with him for a bit."

"Eh, go on ahead, be my guest," Nebula shrugged.

Janna took into a sprint and headed straight for Andrew.

"Hey Andrew," she called out as Andrew saw her for himself and groaned. Despite this, he didn't run away either. Even though he was annoyed by how she teased him and prank him endlessly, he would not be able to shake her off. As such, he decided to suck it up and have her accompany him.

Nebula watched as Janna started teasing Andrew in the distance, and she shook her head.

_Oh, Janna, she can be one weird girl at times. _Nebula thought. _And yet…that doesn't seem to be a bad thing after all…_

With that in mind, Nebula continued to explore the place by herself while Janna was with Andrew and Upsilon was destroying that one room he went to. Even though she didn't remember everything that she needed to know, she was just glad it was over and this was the end of the three-day quest they went on just to take down Ludo who was merely a fake. Personally, it seems that everything was perfectly cool with the dark-haired Ultimate Life Form at the moment, as she continued to explore the flagship…

* * *

The Demonstrix also witness Ludo turning into the silver goop in front of them, indicating that it was a fake that they battled with.

"Guess that Ludo vas fake after all," Buff Frog didn't seem surprised by this realization one bit. As Buff Frog proceeded to turn away and Archibald was poking at the goop, something clicked in Tom's mind.

"Wait, what do you mean _after all_," he interrogated.

Buff Frog didn't say a word. Instead, he motioned both of his teammates to follow him to where they truly needed to be for the past three days.

A single locked door where their client was waiting to be rescued by them. And the _identity_ of the client was just about to be revealed.

Buff Frog placed the five keys they had on each locked and they clicked. Wanting to do this heroically, the frog monster slammed his fists five times on each lock to look like they were about to break him out. Tom decided not to say anything about this matter as Buff Frog did his job.

"Do not vorry, vee are here to save you!" Buff Frog busted the door open and the client's identity was revealed to the Demonstrix. Their client whom they have been taking orders from for the past 3 days was revealed to be none other than…

"_Ludo Avarius_, I presume," Buff Frog found himself saying_ that_ comment.

That's right. Their client this whole time was the _real_ Ludo Avarius, in the flesh. And on the floor in front of him was the talkie that was identical to the one that the Demonstrix had. This situation reeked of nothing but sheer_ irony,_ as they've been working for Ludo this whole time. In the room were that eagle and the giant spider that were held hostage along with the _real_ Ludo. The three of them were put into that room sometime after the battleships started to take off.

Tom and Archibald were confused by this discovery and were wrapping their heads around all of this.

"Wait a minute, what's going on," Tom demanded to know.

"Yeah, what's up with _this_," Archibald was equally curious.

In a few moments, Ludo found himself finally speaking after clearing his throat.

"…you knew it was me all along, didn't you?" The Avarian asked.

Buff Frog only nodded silently before making his comment.

"It's all part of being good detective agent," the frog monster remarked.

Tom had to admit that it was pretty impressive how Buff Frog realized who their client was; this completely flew under their radar. Still, there was more to what they've been through if all their missions are to go by. Something wasn't right.

"Whoa, we've been fooled this whole time," Tom asked, though it was more to himself than anyone else.

"You're ROTTEN!" Archibald yelled at Ludo, not sure what to make of this either. He started advancing towards Ludo, who put his hands up in defense.

"Now hold on there a minute, this is _no_ trick," he defended, getting off the floor. "And besides, I plan on paying you guys. The three of you will be rewarded handsomely for helping me!"

But it was the next thing he said that entirely screwed him over.

"As soon as I conquer the universe, I WILL **PAY **_**YOU!" **_

This caused Buff Frog to stare in shock by what he just heard. Here he was doing the right thing by taking orders and rescuing their client, even if the client was the one guy that he used to work for, and now he was trying to pull a second one on him. This wasn't the first time he tried to pull him like this. To him, this was just like the time Ludo gave Buff Frog that sack of tadpoles, only to later learn that it was just a bribe so he could win back the friendship with him long enough to take back his castle that was being taken over by Toffee. That's what it was _originally_ until Star Butterfly showed up and Ludo decided to use her to his advantage so he could get the wand at the best possible moment, in addition to getting his castle back. This did not sit well with Buff Frog, and the same could be said about Tom and Archibald, who started getting serious. As such, the frog monster grew a scowl on his face as he was letting Ludo know exactly how he feels about this.

"Some nerve, promising vat you ain't got," Buff Frog growled, forming a fist and punching it into the palm of his other webbed hand.

"We've been_ had_," Tom hissed, forming a fireball in between his hands as he was ready to attack along with Buff Frog.

Now Ludo knew that he screwed up by what he said as Buff Frog and Tom were slowly advancing on them, ready to beat the tar out of him. He slowly back away nervously upon them advancing.

"Now look, I was just…" Ludo stuttered nervously as he was cornered. "Wait a minute, please just _listen_ to me!"

"**TAKE THIS, YOU **_**BAD**_** BIRD!"** Archibald roared before diving in and tackling Ludo to the ground, where he proceeded to bite, punch and kick the Avarian repeatedly.

Then the sounds of biting, kicking, punching, smacking and other violent noises, as well as Ludo letting out horrified screams in pain and agony was what were heard in the room as a result…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 22!**

**YUP, THIS CHAPTER WAS MUCH SHORTER THAN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS, AND THIS IS THE SHORTEST CHAPTER TO THIS STORY AS OF NOW! I STILL THINK THAT THIS IS A GOOD CHAPTER!**

**THAT'S RIGHT, THIS WHOLE TIME, THE CLIENT THAT THE DEMONSTRIX WERE WORKING FOR WAS LUDO HIMSELF, WHICH ADDS A HEAVY DOSE OF IRONY TO THE SUBJECT.**

**WHAT'S IRONIC IS THAT BUFF FROG USE TO WORK FOR LUDO, AND LUDO HIRED BUFF FROG WITH TOM AND ARCHIBALD AS THE DEMONSTRIX TO WORK FOR HIM AND DO ALL THOSE MISSIONS BEFORE RESCUING HIM! SO THIS COMES AS A DOUBLE WHAMMY TO THE DEMONSTRIX; TO BUFF FROG IN PARTICULAR! I THINK THAT WAS A CLEVER IDEA THAT I DID!**

**ANYWAY, THERE ARE A COUPLE MORE CHAPTERS TO THIS STORY LEFT, AND THAT'S IT! SO IF YOU LIKE, YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW FOR THIS CHAPTER, AND JUST HANG ON TIGHT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER TO COME OUT!**


	24. The Real Mastermind

**CHAPTER 23-THE REAL MASTERMIND:**

* * *

After several minutes of intense pummeling and beatings were done, there Demonstrix stopped wailing away at Ludo when they started to pick up on something. For the last three days, they've been traveling from one dimension to another while taking orders from the Avarian, which were the same dimensions that the three other teams have traveled through. In those three days, they've fought monsters that vanished into thin air, and encountered 5 fake Ludos in all, including the one that they recently took down in the Ludo Warrior.

Combining that with how most of (if not _all _of) the missions they had to do had an important purpose that made the strong connection, and there was also something devastating going on behind the scenes.

A vast majority of the tasks that Ludo sent them on had the intention of hindering 'Ludos' progress in universal conquest, but that's where the problem comes in. If the Ludos they've been facing were fake, and the real Ludo was their client this whole time guiding them through all of the dimensions, then _who_ was behind this disastrous deed?

Buff Frog with Tom and Archibald had given their possible theories as to who is truly behind this, but Ludo responded to their questions with the same answer: a simple no.

"Alright, then vho vas it Ludo," Buff Frog was interrogating him. Even though he was still resentful by what Ludo said not too long ago, he looked into the eyes of the same Avarian that emerged from the whole GOD scenario; one that didn't seem truly _evil_ in the sort. The Avarian was actually _disappointed_ at that. "Vho locked you in here to carry forth universal conquest?"

Tom and Archibald made some nods to show that they demanded an explanation too. Ludo was trying to think about how he was going to explain to them. But of course, he knew this moment would come and he had to say it eventually, so he took a deep breath and then told them who was truly responsible for all this madness…

* * *

Back outside the flagship, the area started getting darker as more ominous clouds started to form. It was truly a sign that an omen was coming and that a great disaster was going to strike. That didn't seem to bother Star at first since she was running around playing with Daron. The giggles and laughs that they both shared made it evident that they were enjoying each other's presence. It only came to a halt when Star saw something suspicious nearby; it was a tall pole, and on it was a shady mysterious being. This is what threw Star off as she just stared with a rather horrified look in her eyes, feeling that something about that figure was truly evil. What was that being, and why did it look so terrifyingly vicious?

Daron took notice that something was wrong with Star and was growing concerned for her. Looking her dead in the eyes, Daron tried to talk to her.

"Hey Star," she asked. "Is everything okay? What's bothering you?"

Star did not answer. Instead, she shook her head and then told Daron straight up what they had to do now.

"We need to gather up our teammates right now," the Mewni princess sounded very serious when she said that.

Daron didn't bother to question her reason for this since she trusted her and assumed that she had a good reason for this.

"Well okay Star, whatever you think is right," Daron went with it. "And we don't have to go too far either, because Marco and Jackie are right over there."

The nerdy fangirl pointed to the karate master and skateboarder hanging out and reading each others' minds for fun.

"Let's go," Star then rushed over to them along with Daron, with the former wanting to get to the bottom of this.

"Woohoo Marco, you did it _again_," Jackie whooped. "I must say, dude, you are getting _better_ with reading my mind."

"Yeah, I sure am," Marco chuckled. "Now it's your turn to read my mind. What am I thinking about right now?"

Jackie stared at Marco straight in the eyes and took a moment to figure out what he was thinking about. She then made a quick guess as to what he was thinking.

"Are you thinking about the time where we went to that Love Sentence concert with Star?"

"Aw shoot," Marco snapped his fingers. "How did you know that I was thinking of that?"

"Face it, Marco, I'm a whiz with this game," Jackie smirked while kissing him on the cheek. "Besides, I could see it in your eyes that you were thinking about that."

"Oh, I see…" he sounded bashful.

"But just think of it like this," Jackie tried to make him feel better. "The both of us are now experts with reading each other's minds."

"Yeah, that is true," Marco blushed, before hastily kissing Jackie on the cheek. "We are having fun with this game."

"Oh how right you are Marco Diaz, my _safety kid_," Jackie cackled at how Marco said that.

Marco's face would have turned as red as a tomato had Star not been calling out for him.

"HEY MARCO!" Star hollered, getting his attention as he saw Star looking serious and Daron was right beside him. "We have to go now!"

"Same with you Jackie," Daron added. "Something has Star tied in a knot and we have to find out what it is."

"Okay," Marco and Jackie said simultaneously as they got up and joined them.

"HEY PONY HEAD," Daron hollered for the flying unicorn head to come down and approach them.

"Yes, what is it gurl," Pony Head raised an eyebrow.

"We have to go now," Daron ordered. "Something has come up and has left Star all bothered up and it's worrying me."

"Not a problem Daron, if B-Fly is feeling disturbed, then I'm all for finding out what's it all about." Pony Head floated over to join them.

Meanwhile, Star saw Andrew talking with Janna nearby and headed over there with Daron, Marco, Jackie and Pony Head.

"Now do you see why I'm such a prank expert," Janna was teasing Andrew some more. "You should have seen the look on your face when I did _that _to you."

"Okay, okay, you made your point Janna. I shouldn't have underestimated you," Andrew raised his hands in defense. "But I should thank you, for making sure my hat didn't fall off the flagship and that you caught it and gave it back to me. I truly appreciate that."

"Anytime Andy," the nightmare loving girl went and pecked Andrew on the cheek for all his troubles. Andrew was flustered and would have commented on that stunt when he heard Star shouting for him.

"ANDREW, COME ON," she yelled. "We have to go right now!"

"Alright Star," Andrew got up and tilted his hat. "Sorry about this Janna, but something has come up, and it looks like Star requires me at the moment, so I'll see you in a bit."

With one last look in her eyes, Andrew took off and joined Star with Daron, Marco, Jackie and Pony Head. Janna was watching this and noticed that something was bothering Star. Not wanting to miss out on what this is about, Janna decided to regroup her team and join them.

"Hey Nebula and Upsilon let's go," the Filipino yelled. "Something has come up and the other two teams are checking something out! Let's not miss out on what they're doing, and let's go!"

"I guess we should check this out," Nebula had descended from the sky and joined her.

"Affirmative," Upsilon also regrouped with her as he nodded.

With one jolt, the dreadful team ran off and joined the other two teams to see what the commotion was all about.

* * *

It wasn't long before the nine heroes reached the spot that Star directed them too. They got a good look at the figure on top of the pole for themselves. The shady figure looked down upon them and glared in their direction, seeing the oncoming heroes as the inferior beings that they are, or at least according to this creature.

Some of the heroes were wondering what that thing was as the stranger let out a loud dark chuckle.

_"Hmm hmm hmm hmm,"_ the dark cackle was enough to make some of the heroes feel a chill go down their spine. The person was wearing a dark cape as it was shown to be a robot. The nine heroes were wondering why this figure was a robot when it made a proper announcement.

"All living beings kneel before _your_ master!"

"Say what, _living beings_," Andrew tilted his head at what was just said.

"Master," Pony Head was just as confused. "Who does this _chump_ think he is?"

"Yeah," Nebula agreed. "Just what is it that we are staring at?"

"Hush guys," Star instructed. "Something _bad _is about to happen."

Then on cue, the robot opened its eyes which were glowing red, and after removing the cape, it then extended one of its clawed hands to the heavens, which caused a bolt of lightning to summon itself. The heroes braced themselves as some of them were more nervous than others, with Star being the most alert of them all.

There was a moment of strange silence before suddenly, the huge dome resembling Ludo that the pole was atop of ended up exploding. Some had hope that this menace would have exploded with it, but others knew better than to reach that assumption.

It was revealed that the robot _caused_ the explosion.

Nearby, the Demonstrix got outside just in time to see the explosion, as the three of them rushed to join the other heroes, along with Ludo, who was jogging right behind them with the giant spider and the eagle accompanying him. Ludo had picked up the discarded dimension scissors along the way that he pocketed.

It was then this robot menace undergone the most hideous transformation that anyone could witness. A strong magnetic force occurred on the flagship as pieces to it were attaching itself to the robot.

Marco looked like he was ready to faint. Sure he had faced giant monsters several times in the past, but none of them were as monstrous, terrifying or largely an abomination like this. Jackie was right beside him, trying to get him to calm down while watching the transformation for herself along with everyone else. Daron didn't like this and was hugging Star out of fear.

"What the…" Andrew was shocked at what was occurring. "What the heck is going on?"

"Scanners have indicated that a strong magnetic force field is present in the vicinity," Upsilon declared. "To put it simply: something disastrous is about to occur."

"That's a good way to put it," Janna nodded. "This looks exactly like something I would see in a horror movie."

"No kidding," Pony Head felt like trembling at what was taking place.

The transformation continued and a furious wind occurred as a result. A whirlwind of the parts to the flagship made it look like the robot was surrounded by a twister. It was so strong that Andrew had to keep his right hand on his head to keep his hat from being blown away. All these parts were making the robot hide within the creation. It didn't take long before the transformation was complete and the robot had transformed into something _far _different, _far_ bigger, and _far _more menacing and horrifying to look at.

With one loud vicious roar, the heroes found themselves jumping at what was before them. This was not what they were expecting.

"What the…what the heck is that," Marco yelped while quaking. "W-What is _that_ abomination!?"

"Calm down Marco," Jackie told him, rubbing his shoulders. "But I agree, what is that 'thing' that we are looking at?"

"Okay guys, this isn't what I was expecting at all," Pony Head told the truth.

"Me either," Andrew nodded. "Just what the heck is going on here?!"

"I…I don't believe it! Metal Star has _finally_ transformed!"

This got the heroes to turn towards Ludo who had said that. The Demonstrix had witnessed the transformation too and they weren't impressed. Star was the only one who didn't turn to face Ludo since she was still looking at the abomination that was called 'Metal Star'.

Nearby, a group of the monsters that have been serving Metal Star this whole time finally felt that she had gone off the deep end, so they decided not to serve under her name anymore. As such, they were shown screaming and running for their lives, passing by the heroes they completely disregarded. Star had heard what Ludo said and then responded to it.

"Wait, Metal Star," Star whipped around to face the other heroes.

"Uh, who's Metal Star," Andrew scratched his ear. "And why does it sound like a knockoff."

"That's because this creation was an imitation of Star," Marco yelled, taking deep breathes. "But now it's an abomination!"

"No kidding there Marco," Janna gulped. "But…why?"

"Yeah," Jackie shuddered. "I don't understand anything about Metal Star…"

"Me either," Daron cried. "And I think _my_ Star is more than enough!"

"Alright, I demand an explanation," Andrew barked. "Will someone please tell me what's going on!?"

"You're not the only one who is seeking answers," Nebula growled.

"Why don't you ask the person that is responsible for Metal Star's creation," Tom suggested.

"Yeah, we found out everything," Archibald shrieked.

Everyone turned to face Ludo, with expressions that showed that they demanded an explanation about this.

"Eh, I suppose you heroes _deserve_ to know everything," Ludo chuckled nervously.

"Oh, you think," Andrew growled. "Unless you want to have a taste of my fist, you better start talking."

"Yeah, and start from the beginning too," Nebula was on the offensive too. "Like who Metal Star is and how this happened!"

"Commencing to blast down and shoot Ludo if an explanation is not acquired," Upsilon was more than ready to open fire.

"What we want is to know about all of this," Janna scowled.

"Straight up sistah," Pony Head leered.

"Yes Ludo, vhy don't you tell them everything," Buff Frog encouraged.

"You heard them Ludo, we're _waiting_," Star was tapping her foot impatiently as the heroes wanted him to start explaining.

Taking a deep breath and sighing, Ludo started to reveal.

"Okay, here how it goes," he started. "Metal Star was a robot that I created in my spare time when I was inactive for five months. I have had this desire to build a robot minion, so Metal Star was the first one I built."

"Wait, since when did you have a knack for building robots," Andrew interrupted.

"QUIET YOU FOOL," Ludo barked before continuing. "As I was saying, the purpose for Metal Star was to make an opponent that could be at odds with Star similar to how Nebula was. Of course, I was not used to building robots, so this one had several bugs and glitches in it. This was one of the pitiful attempts at being evil, so I sent her out to dispose of Star without her knowing that it was me!"

"Wait, that was your robot," Star was at a shock. She remembered running into a robot that looked just like her and wanted to assassinate her or something. The problem is that the glitches she recalled seeing caused it to backfire, allowing the Mewni princess to trump the robot as if it was nothing.

"Yes it was Star, but that wasn't the point! I was keeping a low profile since I hardly had a desire to be evil anymore," Ludo retorted. "Anyhow, I had concluded that Metal Star was a defect, so I kept her in a single capsule in my throne room. I had also worked on creating Upsilon as a backup fighting robot until I learned that he was overpowered and too dangerous to handle. So I put him in that closet which had that capsule that Nebula was resting it. This was how it went, until one day when she broke out, came up with her plan and then locked me in one of my castle closets before she went and decided to take over the universe herself."

"Okay, disregarding how you built that robot as well as Upsilon, I'm starting to get this," Marco was the one to speak. "But what was Metal Star's plan for universal conquest?"

"It's simple, her plan all along was to gather up all the magical sources and combine them to create the ultimate power, by taking each one from the dimensions that you heroes explored," Ludo confessed. "She had the anticipation that all of you would be dragged in and got involved somehow!"

"So let's start with my team," Star asked. "How did we get involved?"

"It goes like this, Metal Star also has the power to transform into others, including me," Ludo exposed. "So she transformed into me and sent you that letter that was addressed to you and your partners Marco and Andrew, knowing that the three of you would jump in so you could put a stop to it."

"Ah-ha, I should have known that there was something suspicious about that letter," Marco proclaimed.

"Yeah, me too," Andrew huffed.

Ludo disregarded them before turning to face Nebula and Upsilon and pointed at them.

"Then there's you two, the both of you were originally going to serve in Metal Star's army as her minions," he said. "She would have used Upsilon lust for revenge against me to her advantage, while also using Nebula's amnesia to convince her that she was an android that had to join with the rest of the androids that were developed!"

"So that explains why that foe of a robot told me that I have _no past_," Nebula pieced it together.

"And why we had to destroy those capsules in the canyon dimension," Archibald chirped.

"Yes, and you two were to take part in her plan," Ludo hissed. "If it wasn't for Janna breaking into my castle, getting a hold of you two from that top-secret room, and taking the both of you in as part of her team, you wouldn't be here right now. You would currently be serving under Metal Star's name."

Both Nebula and Upsilon gave Janna a look that had a thankful expression in it. They did not like the thought of serving in Metal's army. Upsilon might hate Ludo to no end, but what Metal Star was doing was far more sinister.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing my troublemaking rogue tendency got you two out of there before you were brought into this massacre," Janna smirked with pride.

"Affirmative," Upsilon blared.

"Yes, you are right," Nebula nodded.

"Okay, now there's my team," Daron got Ludo to look at her and point to Pony Head and Jackie. "Why did we get brought into this?"

"Well, remember how I said that she is capable of transforming," the Avarian asked, which the nerdy girl nodded. "Well, that's what she did. She transformed as Star Butterfly and made off with that medallion and the seashell necklace while making it look like Star did it so she wouldn't be exposed! The reason she stole both was that they were of importance to her! The medallion contained some powerful unicorn magic that was etiquette, while that orange seashell necklace contains some mermaid magic that she picked up and found it to be valuable to her plan."

Pony Head grew wide-eyed as she started at her medallion while Jackie was equally shocked; clutching her seashell necklace as if her life depended on it. Marco placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her while Daron tried to comfort Pony Head.

"I see, that is _horrifying_," Daron gulped.

"And then there's us," Buff Frog croaked. "Vee got involved too."

"Yes, I hired you, boys, to help me in this drastic time," the Avarian told the Demonstrix. "The missions I gave to you weren't just to test your abilities, but it was to also hinder Metal Star's plan and keep her from getting _closer_ to it. That's why you had to stop the monsters from hounding the city dimension, why you had to smash those capsules, avoid those mermaids, retrieve and protect those pixies, rescue that fairy, and not get spotted by the monsters. These were to make sure Metal didn't get everything she wanted to claim."

"Yeah, I am seeing the whole truth behind this," Tom rubbed his chin.

"But I'm still confused," Andrew howled. "If Metal Star wanted all the magic she could get, why didn't she _steal_ my Ruler Gemstone!?"

"Andrew you nincompoop, she didn't _need _your Ruler Gemstone just as long as she was able to copy your life data," Ludo sneered. "Because you are the guardian of the Ruler Gemstone, it was clear that she only needed to copy your data to retrieve it. Not to mention those two green glowing wrist bracelets your wearing bestows the same kind of magical source that the Ruler Gemstone is made from!"

"Oh, I always thought that those were _glowing_ for effects," Star was impressed.

"Yeah, they do have the same energy source," Andrew gritted his teeth at how he was fooled.

"But there's still one thing I just don't get," Pony Head had to double-check. "Why was Metal disguising as you while riding those vehicles in the Coastal Ruins Dimension and the Canyon Dimension?"

"How should I know? I only know enough of what Metal Star told me based on the bare bones of the plot," Ludo threw his hands up.

"One more thing, those mermaids that we were supposed to avoid," Archibald brought up a good point. "Did they have magic energy in them too?"

"Yes, they make it rain," Ludo nodded. "And it was bad enough that Metal Star had one mermaid magical heirloom in her possession, I didn't want her to get anymore of it."

"So that explains it," Jackie spoke up next. "That's definitely why she had wanted my seashell necklace."

"I understand too," Marco gulped, clutching Jackie's arm. "I don't know how she executed it so _perfectly_, but it's terrifying."

"Yes, and the worst part is that we were all _pawns_ to her plan," Star gasped. "Assuming that she took advantage of the Demonstrix doing their job..."

"She _did_," Ludo gulped. "But it doesn't matter now. Metal Star has _combined_ all twelve of your life data with the power of all the magic in the universe, transformed into that monstrous menace, and she's super strong! We _can't _defeat her!"

Everyone saw how Ludo panicked when he said that, so this meant _big trouble_ for the universe, and then some. If they copied all of their abilities, what else did she gain out of it?

"AUGH," Ludo grunted. "If only we had the seven Miracle Gemstones right about now!"

All twelve of them were lit up upon hearing that.

"Did I just hear you correctly Ludo," Star raised an eyebrow while smirking. "Did you just say something about the Miracle Gemstones?"

"Yes Star," he groaned. "The same objects you used to save the universe from being imploded from five months ago, with assistance from Nebula!"

Nebula was now confused by what he was saying as Star continued to grin away.

"Alright, just checking," knowing that the other teams had at least 2 Miracle Gemstones; she snapped their fingers to give them the signal.

Jackie got out the yellow Miracle Gemstone that she found in the Casino Dimension while Daron got out the purple Miracle Gemstone she found in the mansion located in the Spooky Dimension. Janna smirked and got out the white Miracle Gemstone she found with her teammates in the Canyon Dimension as Upsilon took out the green Miracle Gemstone that Nebula was so attached to that they found in the Coastal Ruins Dimension. Next, Tom took out the red Miracle Gemstone that he found recently on the flagship in the Sky Dimension, and Archibald took out the cyan Miracle Gemstone that was located in the Jungle Dimension. Seeing that they all had their gemstones out, Star fished in her backpack and took out the blue Miracle Gemstone she found with her teammates in the power plant located within the Big City Dimension.

Ludo ended up gawking at the sight, seeing the seven Miracle Gemstones for himself.

"What's this, but how," he had no idea how this happened, but he shook it off and brought up. "Well, even with the Miracle Gemstones' power, our chances for victory are slim, with all the magic energy that Metal Star has at her disposal! It would take an absolute miracle to save us all!"

"Well then Ludo," Star cocked while tossing her Miracle Gemstone up and down. "It just so happens that I'm a master with miracles, so you can leave this up to me."

"S-Star, no…" Daron was wicked concerned now, as was the other heroes. They knew that Star didn't have a chance against Metal Star all by her lonesome with all the data of them copied with their abilities and then some within, combined with the magical energy she had, and Star knew this. This _wasn't_ going to turn out well.

"Relax guys, I'll just go into my super form and it'll be a piece of cake," Star seemed confident.

"Not with the kind of magic that she has," Ludo barked.

Star knew that they were _right_, but what choice did she have? It was either save them or let the universe perish.

She walked up to the abomination that was Metal Star and was about to do what she needed to when Marco stopped her. There was no way he was letting her take on that monster alone, and he would stick with her until this was all over.

"No Star, I'm going with you," he declared, not planning on turning back any time soon.

"M-Marco…?"

"You can count me in too," Andrew insisted while stepping up. "We'll see this until the _bitter _end."

"A-Andrew…"

"Okay you three," this came from Nebula as she stepped up along with the rest of the heroes. "We'll buy the three of you some time, so you'll be able to enter your super forms."

"Wait, hold it, hold it, hold it," Andrew stopped her right there. "Star is the only one that has a super form! Marco and I don't have super forms!"

"There's a first time for _everything_," Star ensured.

"I suppose your right," Andrew sighed.

"Alright guys, let's get ready to do this," Star declared. "We'll show this creep the real superpower of teamwork!"

"Real superpower of teamwork," Nebula huffed. "That sounds _awfully_ cliché."

"That's what I said at first," Andrew groaned.

"Ugh, it doesn't matter, so here's how we're going to do it," Nebula commanded. "While Star and her friends wait on the sideline, Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie will go after Metal from the left, the Demonstrix will go after her on the right, and my team will take it head-on, and if we're lucky, Star and her pals will be able to deliver the final blow."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Pony Head said. "Let's go with it."

"I guess vee can vork vith that too," Buff Frog sighed.

"Anything to take care of this menace," Marco proclaimed.

"Remember you guys," Ludo decided to warn them. "Because Metal Star absorbed the magical power from the medallion and the seashell necklace combined, her transformation skills will prove to be _dangerous_! And another reminder, she has possession of every single one of your abilities, including Miracle Levitato!"

"Another reason to remain on guard," Nebula grumbled after wincing at the revelation.

"And also guys, if we're going into our super forms," Andrew told them. "We'll need you guys to _fork_ over your Miracle Gemstones and give them to us!"

"No problem," Pony Head quipped. "We'll give you guys our gemstones to help you out."

"Yeah," Buff Frog nodded. "Vee vill be able to make a sacrifice."

"Anything to bring this robotic monster down," Nebula crossed her arms.

Star already had possession of the blue Miracle Gemstone, so that was all set.

Upsilon was the first to step up with the green Miracle Gemstone as he placed it into Andrew's hands.

"Permission to gain access to the Miracle Gemstone has been accepted," the robot approved.

"Uh, thanks for that," Andrew rubbed the back of his head while holding the green gemstone. "I think…"

Jackie was the next to step up as she gave the yellow Miracle Gemstone to Marco.

"Okay Marco, this is the gemstone you were awarded for saving Echo Creek," she placed it into his hands. "And Marco, be _careful_ out there."

Marco looked at her with sincerity in his eyes. "You be careful too, Jackie."

"One more thing," Jackie approached him and gave him a good kiss right on the mouth. "_That's _for good luck, Marco."

"Uh, t-thanks," Marco was grinning like a fool at how Jackie gave him good luck in the form of a kiss.

Meanwhile, Janna stepped up and gave the white Miracle Gemstone to Andrew, while giving him a smirk and a wink.

"Well Andy, this is the other gemstone we found," Janna placed it into his hands. "Hope this'll help."

"Oh it'll help alright," Andrew snorted. "But thanks for this."

"Trust me, Andrew," she nudged him playfully before smacking his butt. "You're going to _need _it."

Andrew was flustered by having his butt smacked by Janna.

Next up was Archibald, who flew over and gave the cyan Miracle Gemstone to Marco.

"Alright Marco, this is the gemstone that me and the boys found in the jungle dimension," he put it into his hands. "I hope this will help."

"Oh it should help," Marco smiled. "Thanks for this."

"Anytime," Archibald chirped.

Next was Daron, who proceeded to give the purple Miracle Gemstone to Star.

"Alright Star, I'm giving you the Miracle Gemstone that I was given," Daron told her. "Just be careful when you go to fight this monster."

"I will," Star hugged her. "You be careful too Daron."

"No worries, I'll handle my own just like you do," Daron chirped.

Star giggled before rustling Daron's hair.

Lastly, there was Tom, who had the red Miracle Gemstone and decided to give it to Star.

"Okay, this is the last Miracle Gemstone that you guys need," the demon placed it into her hands. "I do hope you be careful Starship."

"Thanks for this Tom," Star had a genuine smile on her face. "I truly appreciate it."

"No trouble," Tom gave her an encouraging smile. "Good luck Starship."

"Okay, is everyone all set?" Nebula felt like asking the other heroes.

"We sure are," Daron declared.

"Anytime you're ready," Buff Frog gave his signal too.

"Alright, let's _move_ out!" Nebula barked.

All twelve heroes nodded as they got to their positions; Team Star went to the sideline, Team Sparkle went to the left side of the metal monster, the Demonstrix went to the right side of the metal monster, and Team Dread remained right where they were, in front of their robotic monster opponent.

* * *

Though Metal Star's attention was directly on Team Sparkle. Knowing what had gone on throughout this whole adventure, especially after the explanation Ludo just gave to them, Daron along with Pony Head and Jackie were willing to put an end to it once and for all.

"Now I get it, you are the one that was pretending to be Star," Daron glowered, her fake wand out and ready to be used. It all made sense now, Metal Star was the one that took Pony Head's medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace. "You are the thief _responsible_ for taking Pony Head's medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace heirloom!"

"You know, I can't believe you would do such a _horrible_ thing," Jackie quaked, touching her seashell necklace.

"You _jerk_, you're going to pay for _thi_s," Pony Head snarled, keeping her medallion on her neck.

"I'll tear you to _pieces_," the robotic monster bellowed, not holding back for anything. Her intense hatred for Star, her suddenly betrayal from Ludo, it was all festering up into a desire to prove that she was the ultimate, to conquer the universe and be vastly superior to all living beings out there. And taking down these 12 insolent heroes, including her _loathsome copy_ Star that stood in her way will be no problem at all.

Her left arm swept across the platform, bursting it into demon flames in an attempt to scorch the girly team alive. Daron, Pony Head, and Jackie ducked and winced as they were frantically wondering where this monster's weak point was. Pony Head then looked and saw a red flashing spot.

"Hey gurls, this red flashing light must be the weak spot," Pony Head hollered to her teammates.

"Alright, I'm going for it," Daron readied her wand and was about to jump and smack that red glowing spot. "I'll destroy you!"

She went and hit the weak spot with such accuracy, only to be ricocheted off of it, and doing zero damage to it. Daron recoiled backward as Metal Star cackled at her pitiful attempt at damaging her. She then swung a tail that she grew at her, knocking her even farther than her original destination. As Jackie went to check on Daron, Pony Head decided to take measures into her hand. She then fired her unicorn magic at the red glowing spot several times, which caused some pain to the metal fiend…up until the light turned yellow. Then Pony Head couldn't damage it anymore. Jackie helped up Daron and regrouped with Pony Head.

"Oh, that could have gone better," Daron shook her head.

"Hey gurls, I think I figured out how the weak spot works," Pony Head directed them to the now yellow glowing spot. "I was able to damage the red spot with ease, up until it turned yellow, and now I can't deal any damage to it anymore."

"But Jackie and I can," Daron smirked as she turned to face the skateboarder chick. Jackie had her back while Daron went to charge at the weak spot once again with her fake wand, and she slammed it into the spot. This time, Metal Star let out a howl of unbearable agony, waving her limbs to try to batter Daron back. This time, however, Daron was ready as she dodged the attack while hitting the weak spot several times. This lasted until the spot turned red again, which means she's unable to strike it. Now it was Jackie's turn to enter the fray as she jumped up and delivered a karate kick to the weak spot, inflicting some more pain on the monster. As she did that, Pony Head approached the metal fiend and charged up her horn.

"This is for taking my medallion and for taking Jackie's seashell necklace," she scowled before opening fire on the weak spot several times. The spot then turned blue as this happened, meaning that Jackie was unable to strike it any further. But Pony Head and Daron were still able to attack it. The floating unicorn head fired yet another beam of magic energy at the weak spot, resulting in Metal Star to retaliate by shooting her own beams of unicorn magic in an attempt to freeze the girly team, or otherwise. Fortunately, the three girls bolted in different directions; Daron moved to the left, Jackie went to the right, and Pony Head went upward in an attempt to be out of range. Daron then went and delivered one final blow with her fake wand, which shattered the glass and caused the metallic monster to roar in an elicit style. Daron snickered and spun her wand while calling out to the other teams.

"We've done our part," Daron hollered. "Are you guys ready!?"

It was Buff Frog who replied on the right side. "Anytime ya ready!"

"It's too late," Metal Star rumbled in a fashion that almost felt like an earthquake had occurred. She then turned to her left and saw the Demonstrix charging right for her.

"Okay guys, it's safe to say that the transformation of this monster isn't quite complete," it was Tom that made that deduction.

"You know what that makes this dweeb," Archibald scowled. "She's an incomplete freak!"

"You're all useless now that I've copied all of your data," Metal Star blared violently.

To prove it, she then swept her left arm once again before hurling fireballs with the same arm.

"Guys, she has copied our data," Archibald screeched as they winced. "I mean this menace got the fireballs from Tom!"

"And she got unicorn magic from Pony Head," Buff Frog croaked. "Regardless, vee must give it everything vee got!"

Tom only nodded as he reacted with his own fireballs being tossed at the red glowing orb that was the weak spot. It quickly turned blue which resulted in Buff Frog deciding to give it a go. Buff Frog used his extractable tongue to his advantage by wrapping it around one of the solid objects around him and then started swinging it like a wrecking ball. It was a sight to behold for the metal fiend, but it faded when the frog monster let go of the object which got hurled right into the blue orb. Once again, Metal Star roared, but it didn't last long when the orb turned red, meaning Buff Frog couldn't damage it anymore. Tom used this opportunity to throw more fireballs at the orb.

"Archibald, shoot some acid from your mouth," the demon commanded.

"Alright," the gargoyle smiled. "I get to help out!"

He swooped down close to the orb before he spat out several spits of acid onto it. This got the metal monster to moan before Archibald tried to bite the orb with his teeth. But that wasn't enough to shatter the orb whole.

Metal Star didn't take too kindly of that, as she then took her right hand and shot out a chunk of acid from it, identical to the ones Archibald spits out. The gargoyle merely dodged this as the monster proceeded to use a different attack. Several mermaid seashells got fired from her hand as they were homing in on Buff Frog, who was still recovering from tossing that object at the orb with his tongue. Tom noticed this and decided to take the noble approach, by pushing Buff Frog out of the way and taking the blow. Now Tom was knocked to the ground on the spot where he was surrounded by some mermaid bubbles serving as barriers. Buff Frog was rolling over several times before he figured out exactly what happened.

"Tom," he called out, approaching him. "That must've been from seashell necklace heirloom that this monster took magical energy from."

Tom shook his head and pointed to Metal Star. The light on the orb turned back to blue, meaning he wouldn't be able to damage it any way.

"Forget about me Buff Frog, just finish her off," the demon informed him. Buff Frog decided to let this be and went straight for Archibald, where he was calling out to him with the blasts of unicorn magic being shot at from Metal Star's back.

Buff Frog managed to land two punches onto the orb, which was great until the orb turned red again. He couldn't damage it now.

But Archibald sure can.

"Vhy von't orb ever turns yellow," Buff Frog groaned. "Ah vhatever, Archibald, this be all up to you. Think you can handle it?"

"I'll do anything to make you proud, Buff Frog," Archibald saluted, as the frog monster smiled and crossed his arms.

"Very good…"

Archibald then went and charged for the red orb while narrowly curving away from the projectiles that Metal Star was firing at him. After firing a single spit of acid on it, Archibald came up close to it just to bite the orb. This did enough damage to get the orb to crack, as Metal Star lashed out with another ear-piercing roar. Archibald flew back to Buff Frog and shown him just what he achieved. Buff Frog chuckled before going over to Tom and assisting him. The demon wasn't too banged up, he was just glad that Buff Frog was alright.

"You know something comrades," Buff Frog expressed his gratitude and appreciation for both the demon and the gargoyle. "I'm proud of you both."

Tom simply smiled and shrugged, but appreciated it, while Archibald let his voice be heard and saying how she wouldn't be taken down without him. Buff Frog shook his head before hollering over to Team Dread.

"Vee are almost done, now it's up to you," Buff Frog told them.

"We'll take it from here," Nebula and Janna said in unison while Upsilon blared at how he was ready for this. The dreadful team glared up at Metal Star, hoping that they could completely demolish this monster before its final transformation has been completed and finalized.

"This victory shall soon turn into despair," the metal monster boomed.

"Good to see that your comfortable with all this," Nebula retorted sarcastically, taking out her wand. "After all, you are the monster who's responsible for all that has happened!"

"You think you're so tough just by absorbing all the magic in the universe and copying all 12 of our data," Janna spat. "Not to mention being the real mastermind behind this scheme!"

"New target acquisition: sights locked on Metal Star." Upsilon blared, preparing to open fire.

"Even the ultimate life form can't stop me," Metal Star blared once again. She swung her tail onto the platform that they were standing on. All three of them jumped with red hot frustration building up in Nebula, and it was visible in her eyes. She took a daring dash forward, and Janna was hoping and praying that she wouldn't unleash that destructive red rage attack again.

"I don't know who the heck you are, but I _do_ know something now," Nebula snarled. "There weren't multiple fake Ludos, there was only one, and it was just you! That's how you were able to pull data from all of us, including Ludo, Pony Head's medallion and Jackie's seashell necklace, and my Miracle Levitato!"

"Well, looks like someone catches on fast," the Metallic Fiend snorted.

"I also caught onto the fact that it was you who said that I have no past, not _Ludo_," Nebula continued. "That means, there's a chance that I am not a Nebula Android after all…and I do have a _past_ to remember!"

"Whether you're an android or not doesn't matter to me _anymore_, all will bow down to me," the monster roared, firing red lasers from her eyes in an attempt to fry the team, which they jumped out of the way. "That poor excuse for an Avarian ruler spent a few months with you, while he only spent half the amount with me before I was sitting in that containment! He left me be to rust in my preservation liquid, and he thinks that I was deactivated the whole time because of some bugs and glitches, but I've always been active and watching, waiting for the moment to strike."

"That's just creepy," Janna swung her hairdryer into the orb that was color yellow. "I mean not creepy awesome, but disturbing creepy."

Metal Star hissed and retaliated by firing several mermaid seashells that homed in on Janna. She backflipped away from the first two before swinging her hairdryer into the third one, where the seashell shattered into several pieces. Metal Star continued to unleash attacks on them, carrying on with her spiel.

"Ludo checked on you every day Nebula, but I don't know why," she hissed. "You never changed, while I was left to rust away. But then he built another robot that proved to be overpowered and dangerous where he then assigned said robot to guard you, in case someone was to take you, which is something that he should have done with me _first_!"

Upsilon knew that the monstrous robot was referring to him as fired mercilessly at Metal Star, up until the weak spot turned red, where he couldn't do anymore damage. As Nebula fired several Dark Purple Lightning Spears at the spot, Metal Star then turned to Upsilon and delivered the robot equivalent of a smile.

"L-020 Upsilon, you have rebelled against Ludo too. Join me, and we can unleash our revenge against that pathetic Avarian! And along the way, we can prove that we are the superior beings!" She tried to coax him onto her side.

Upsilon then remembered what was revealed. Even though he hates Ludo, what Metal Star was doing was far beyond chaotic and worse than what Ludo has done. As such, he stood his ground and made himself stand firm.

"My new mission is to destroy all of Ludo's monsters," Upsilon blared, firing away at the orb again now that it was no longer red, eliciting a cry from the Metallic Fiend. "I will get my revenge on Ludo someday, but it will **not** be by _your _side!"

"That's right, you tell her Upsilon," Janna was the one to have shouted that. The Filipino used her hairdryer once again and slammed it into the orb. The monster let out a primal cry and used her tail to whip over the platform the dreadful team was on, which swept them off their feet.

"You've made the wrong choice," the monster glowered. "Once I've overtaken my loathsome copy; Star and rid of that Avarian Ludo, you'll be the next to go. All of you fools will meet your end!"

"So you've had a grudge that's been building up for months," Nebula scoffed, firing a Dark Purple Fist Punch to the orb, now colored blue. "I may have a memory that is three days old, but I know enough to understand that you're _completely _out of your programming!"

Metal Star only cackled before unleashing her flamethrower which shot out demon flames across the platform again.

"That is where you're wrong! I was programmed to destroy, _defeat_ and _**replace**_ Star Butterfly, which I intend to do; but Ludo didn't count on my metal mental capacity to expand far beyond his expectations! Both will fall before my hand-!"

"Yeah, whatever," Nebula grunted abruptly, as she teleported right in front of the orb and delivered a roundhouse kick directly into it. "I've got enough answers to suffice me for now, and you're starting to get on my nerves…so we're done!"

All three orbs that decorated Metal Star on the left, right and the center were now sparking out of control, hindering the Metallic Fiend long enough to buy Team Star time to prepare, and lucky for the heroes, they were ready to go.

Metal Star, on the other hand, was not enjoying this. She still firmly believed that she would come out victorious in the end…almost as if she had one last trick up her sleeve. She flailed around, flaming from the flanks, but not caving into defeat. Eventually, to everyone's shock, some of her pieces started bursting off, only to be replaced by much more deadly trinkets. Daron was beginning to tremble at the sight of this, while Buff Frog was heard muttering.

"Now her final transformation is almost completed…"

What left some people shocked was how Metal Star suddenly began to fly with huge metallic butterfly wings and a lower half body that resembled the end of a mermaid, with a unicorn horn on her head to compliment that. She was now an overlord of the sky as she flew away from the deck and started to reck havoc that she'd been waiting to do for three days while putting it into action.

"How appropriate it's going to be having a robotic monstrous overlord rule a _monstrous _kingdom!"

Nebula had no idea what she was planning now, and neither did the other heroes. But they knew that they had taken care of the monster for now, and it was up to Star, Marco, and Andrew to finish up before it becomes far worse than it already has.

"Star, we're counting on you…" Nebula could only mutter.

"Yeah, it's up to Star and her friends now," Daron whimpered.

"I hope Marco and his pals can do this," Jackie hoped.

"I think Star, Marco, and Andrew can win," Janna insisted.

"I sure hope so too," Archibald cried.

The rest of them hoped for the same thing, wondering if this could be the end for the universe…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 23!**

**THAT'S RIGHT! THAT'S WHO THE REAL MASTERMIND BEHIND THIS UNIVERSAL CONQUEST PLOT IS! **

**WELL, THERE'S NOT MUCH LEFT TO SAY, OTHER THAN THIS IS THE CLIMAX FOR THE STORY AND THERE'S ONLY A COUPLE CHAPTERS LEFT! STILL, I HOPE THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD STORY FOR YOU ALL!**

**WITH THAT SAID AND DONE, YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU WANT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER! OTHERWISE, JUST WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! **


	25. The Real Power of Teamwork

**CHAPTER 24-THE REAL POWER OF TEAMWORK:**

* * *

On the sideline, Star, Marco, and Andrew were standing while watching the other three teams battle off against Metal Star as a to stall the time it takes for Metal Star to reach her final transformation until an opportune moment could occur for the three of them. Marco and Andrew were watching the fight go on near the edge, wondering if they'll have a turn to fight. The former also gave some cheering of encouragement for Jackie. Star, on the other hand, was not watching the fight. Instead, she had her back turned on the fight and her two comrades, as a frown formed on her face. She was becoming convinced that everything that had happened up to this point was her own doing and she brought it entirely upon herself. This isn't what she wanted. She didn't want her close friends to get involved, or even the likes of Ludo be thrown under the bus by one of his only creations. She shook her head and sighed sadly.

"This is _all_ my fault…" Star said to herself in a rather forlorn tone, hoping that no one heard what she said.

"What's your fault Star?" Someone did hear her as it was Marco who asked that. He looked kinda concerned as Star knew she wouldn't be able to weasel her way out of this. So she had to take a deep breath and turned around to face him.

"I mean this whole disaster that we've gotten into," she confessed. "I'm the one that Metal Star is truly after, and yet everyone had gotten involved. Janna, Daron, Jackie and Pony Head, the Demonstrix, and even Ludo had gotten wrapped up into this. From Pony Head and Jackie having their medallion and seashell necklace being stolen to Nebula having no memory, as well as Upsilon having a desire for revenge, and how the Demonstrix were hired by the real Ludo to settle things straight. All of it was my doing…"

Andrew overheard all of that and decided to jump in.

"Oh come off it now Star, you can't blame yourself for _that_," Andrew scoffed. "Metal Star was programmed to go after you, and in spite of the bugs and glitches that she had, she was designed to replace you. That being said, this whole mess was her fault, since she got _all_ of us involved, and she took the guise of the one guy that_ everyone _hates, so she is the number one target for a brutal butt-kicking."

"Maybe, but that's just it," Star cried out. "Everyone, including us, was used as pawns for Metal Star's plan! And as we speak, the other teams are fighting just to give us a better chance at fighting! But who's going to give them a better chance at fighting?"

"They wanted to help us Star," Marco defended. "Our friends wanted to make sure we had all the help we can get in this fight. I mean Janna, Nebula, Daron, Pony Head, the Demonstrix…and Jackie, are helping us to make this fight vastly easier! They didn't want to remain useless and stay on the sideline."

"But we are on the sideline right now," Andrew reminded him.

"Oh you know what I mean Andrew," Marco cast a look towards the treasure hunter before facing Star again. "Look Star, there's no way you can be able to defeat Metal Star with all the magical energy sources that she has on her by yourself. Everyone is fighting as hard as they can so they won't have to have you give yourself up just to fight for _us_. The only way to truly stop Metal Star is to hit her with a combo team attack, or a simultaneous strike by at least three people. You by yourself, even in your super form, don't stand a chance…"

"I don't want to put anyone else in the line of danger just for me though," Star yelled, clutching her fists. Tears were starting to drip from her eyes. "I…I almost lost you two, and I don't want to put you both in danger again… You warned me about that letter that came from Ludo, but I dragged you into this adventure anyway, regardless of what you two say. If you two get hurt out there…I'll…_I'll _never be able to _forgive_ myself…"

Andrew knew that Star was still shaken up by that, and thus took a deep breath and spoke up.

"Okay look Star, it might be true that I may not have wanted to come here in the first place, and it's also true that your antics got on my nerves," he took a low deep breath. "But if Marco and I let you fight Metal Star alone and something happens to _you, __**we **_wouldn't be able to forgive _**ourselves! **_And the same could be said about the other teams!"

Marco nodded and ended up grabbing Star by the sides of her arms.

"Star, it'll be okay. Andrew and I _aren't_ going to leave you," he assured. "We promise that nothing will happen to us, just as long as the three of us handle this together."

"That's right," Andrew agreed. "None of us are going anywhere anytime soon, and we'll be with you throughout this final battle!"

"Trust us Star, we wouldn't let anything happen to _us_, for your sake and everyone else," the Latino told her. "Do you understand?"

Star responded with a simple nod as she wiped her tears and the three of them engaged in a group hug. The hug lasted long enough for them to notice Metal Star reaching her final transformation. Metal Star now had huge butterfly robot wings, a mermaid tail, and a unicorn horn to go with its already monstrous form. Star saw this for herself as did her teammates and she groaned, watching Metal Star take to the stormy sky.

"Well look at that, looks like Metal Star can fly too," she retorted playfully. "But regardless, it's about time the three of us kick it into high gear."

"Ready when you are Star," Marco and Andrew said simultaneously.

The three of them joined hands by placing one into a pile as they got the Miracle Gemstones out to surround them. They started to rotate slowly, but they picked up the pace as it started to move faster while Star closed her eyes. Eventually, all of the magic energy from the gemstones was absorbed by Star, and before they knew it, Star went right into her super transformation. It was the same transformation that she had five months ago when it came to saving the universe from the Space Colony GOD imploding in on the universe. She was as determined as ever.

"Alright, now let's see what _our_ super transformations are like," Andrew encouraged.

"Yeah, let's see if this works," Marco agreed.

The Miracle Gemstones then extracted their energy into Marco and Andrew as they were getting their own super transformation. Both of them found themselves surrounded in bright light, and once the light vanished, the two of them had gotten into their super transformations.

For Marco, he had donned entirely different attire. He was wearing karate shorts, but he had no shirt on, and his chest was pretty _hot_ to look at. It was buff-like to put it simply. Another striking feature was that his hair was now golden yellow and was flashing. To top it off, he had a necklace on that had the yin-yang symbol on the end.

As for Andrew, he was also no longer wearing a shirt and his buff chest was quite attractive too. He was still wearing his hat though, but his hair was no longer dirty blonde. Now his hair was light blonde in color, _not_ unlike Jackie's, and there were two blue streaks on both sides that were flashing too. The treasure hunter was wearing shorts too, as well as wearing his own kind of necklace that had a green diamond, resembling the Ruler Gemstone as it was flashing an emerald green. The two bracelets he wore normally were gone and were replaced with the necklace that he had on.

Star decided to take a look at both of her comrades and their super forms. She let out a low whistle at their new appearance.

"Whew, you two look pretty attractive," Star smirked. "Glad to see that the transformation worked out for all of us."

"Yeah, thanks for that Star," Marco seemed flattered.

"Uh-huh, the compliments were appreciated," Andrew crossed his arms.

"So, you ready to do this," Star dared to ask.

Both of them nodded as this permitted Star to get the three of them to fight Metal Star.

The nine other heroes saw the super transformations for themselves. While seeing Star's transformation didn't come as a surprise since it was used before, the transformations for both her teammates left them surprised. All of them gawked at their new appearances. Jackie was shown drooling at the sight of Marco's super form, with her eyes twinkling in sparkles while she let out a loud whistle of admiration, whereas Janna let out a cat growl and made a suggestive face at the sight of Andrew's super form. Regardless, all of them loved the super transformations.

After waving to the other teams below, Team Star finally took to the sky after Metal Star in hope of finally putting an end to this once and for all…

* * *

It didn't take them long to make it to the sky where Metal Star was waiting for them, and by the look on her monstrous face, she was ready to end this.

"If it isn't Star Butterfly, my _loathsome _copy," she greeted Star and her team as if they were a distance away. "Good to see you again, for the _last_ time."

"Yeah, good to see you again," Star snorted. "I'm surprised that you were unable to thwart me with all the glitches you had and then you suddenly made a recovery to turn into _this." _

"That's what you'd say, but I was placed into unfortunate circumstances. During that time, however, I was able to formulate this _flawless_ plan to exterminate you and take over what should have been mine: the universe, _and _your identity Star!"

"Huh, if this plan was flawless, we wouldn't be here right now, getting ready to blast you into pieces, genius," Andrew retorted. "Honestly, you should have tried harder in getting rid of us!"

"Don't give him any ideas Andrew," Marco winced, sensing that Metal Star had something planned for the three of them. Then just as expected, Metal Star threw her head back and chortled before charging up a powerful laser beam made from magic.

"In that case, allow me to give you fools a demonstration as to what I'm here for," Metal Star then roared and opened fire.

In a dramatic instance, Metal Star lurched back and fired a powerful magic beam at them; a highly concentrated amount of bright rainbow power aimed at them. However, since she anticipated this, Star took the daring approach and flew right through the rainbow-colored beam. Then as expected, she got through unscathed, feeling stronger than ever before.

"Wow Metal Star, you were right," Star whooped. "That was a great idea by the way."

This caused both Marco and Andrew to snicker as Metal Star let out a loud angry roar. She rapidly fired more blasts in the form of smaller bursts. Once again, Team Star barreled through them all and shattered them like they were glasses. They somehow gained power from this.

"Hey guys, I just realized something," Marco informed his teammates. "If we can increase our strength by doing what we've been doing, we'll be able to combine our power and strike together as a team!"

"Wasn't that the _plan_ this whole time Marco," Star grinned at him and winked.

"Yup, but now Metal Star is practically handing us her defeat," Andrew chuckled.

"Let's just keep blasting through these Rainbow Bursts," Marco suggested. "Since she hasn't caught onto the fact that this is helping us more than it is hurting us."

The three of them burst right through three more Rainbow Bursts, which built up enough power for the three of them to do some damage to Metal Star. The three of them grabbed hands before charging towards the metal menace. They were surrounded by a magical energy force that engulfed them in a very colorful display. They performed their super-powerful team attack together which involved all three of them firing blasts of energy in all different parts of the metal monster at the same time. Just as Marco predicted, not even Metal could withstand the triple power of a trinity strike from all three of them. This caused her to fall through some clouds and let out a painful roar.

Andrew ended up gapping as he tilted his hat at the sight of this.

"Whoa, there's no way she could be _defeated_ already."

"I dunno," Star shrugged. "I did manage to take down Toffee that one time with one magical blast."

"That was because Toffee wasn't a monstrous being like Metal Star is currently," Marco proclaimed. "Besides, do you think that this mad metallic monstrous overlord would be defeated that easily?"

To prove his point, he pointed down towards the thundercloud where Metal Star was starting to resurface. She had an entire fleet ship in her hands which she hurled right in their direction. Star, Marco, and Andrew had to split up to avoid the craft soaring straight at them. Andrew then gaped at what he saw.

"Whoa, she can pluck an entire aircraft out of the sky and chuck it right at us? They look like twigs compared to her."

"Not to mention meteors compared to _us_," Star retorted.

"Also try to remember that she likely copied the strength of both Andrew and Buff Frog combined," Marco warned them. "Along with anything else that could be playing a factor in that."

"Regardless, we got this, guys," Star assured them. "She can't hurt us if we just stay focused. If we keep dodging massive ships and punching through those blasts, we might as well be able to do anything!"

Marco and Andrew nodded silently as Metal Star was glaring at them in the background, with her focus primarily on Star.

"Star…I was _created_ with the ultimate intention of destroying you. I am the ultimate weapon of destruction!"

"So wait a minute, you were referring to yourself when you wrote that letter to us under Ludo's name," Star asked and rolled her eyes. "Wow, and people say I have a big _ego_."

"Probably because it is," Andrew butted in.

"No matter what I've tried, whether it was because of Ludo's incompetence, or the glitches and bugs becoming a factor, or whatever else, I was _never_ able to defeat you! That's why I had transformed my own body with my own hands!"

"And you're calling me a copy of a robot that looks almost exactly nothing like me at all aside from the color," Star grumbled. "Yeah, there's_ nothing_ wrong with this picture…"

"You can transform into the ultimate weapon all you want, but Star will still defeat you, especially with her friends helping her," Marco exclaimed. "You'll just have your butt whooped by the likes of Star Butterfly just like you have been within the past 5 months."

"Not this time, since that's changing tonight," Metal Star roared. "Once you and your friends are out of my way permanently, I will repair the fleet of airships and continue my universal conquest!"

"Wow, good to see that a robot has such a sense of aspiration," Andrew retorted. "It was pretty aspiring, for someone who was leading an entire army of monsters for the past couple of days."

"Let's not forget that Upsilon was created with the self-inflicted purpose of eliminating all of Ludo's minions," Star pointed out. "We'll do him a favor and take this monstrous robot out of commission."

Metal Star fired more Rainbow Bursts at them, which Team Star ended up breaking through them and absorbing the power from them all. However, Metal Star decided to take a different approach as she went and shot several beams of unicorn magic from the horn on her head, before hurling fireballs and acid spits at them. They quickly maneuvered out of the way, but this distracted them from the real threat. Metal Star then fired some mermaid seashells from her hands. One of them struck Andrew and encased him in a giant mermaid bubble barrier, where he was trapped.

"What the…that was cheap," Andrew howled, breaking through the barrier himself from the inside.

"Metal Star is firing mermaid seashells at us that'll trap us in _bubble_ barriers," Star was shocked.

"She must have picked that up from the seashell necklace heirloom that Jackie owns," Marco realized with wide-eyes.

"No kidding," Star saw more seashells coming their way and fired some super-enhanced Rainbow Blasts at them with her wand. Marco then stepped in and took care of the remaining seashells by creating a ball of magic energy and hurled it right into the seashells, breaking them instantaneously.

"Wow, that was _wicked_ cool Marco," Star praised, using a super Rainbow Fist Punch on the bubble barrier to free Andrew. "Where did you learn to do something like that?"

"Uh, I have no idea," Marco was unsure of the answer. "Perhaps it was some natural instincts based on how I'm charging on Miracle Gemstone power…"

"In any case, Metal Star is going to _pay _for that!" Andrew roared, as he was flying towards Metal Star in a blind rage. Star rolled her eyes and grabbed the treasure hunter, reeling him back in.

"We don't have enough energy power yet Andrew," Star told him. "All we can do is counter against her attacks to build up the strength needed instead of going directly after him. Once we have the right amount of power, then you can get back at her."

Andrew could only nod as they once again, waited for Metal to strike. And luckily for them, it didn't take that long to happen. After they had absorbed more energy from the attacks, Star led the charge as the three of them unleashed another powerful super-charged team attack. This ended up impaling Metal Star some more and did more damage.

"Alright, here we come, you guys ready," Star whooped, with a smirk crossing her face.

"Of course we are," Marco exclaimed with a smile.

"That's right, we're with you until the end Star," Andrew admitted while having her back too.

"And the _end_ is closer than you think," Metal Star boomed. She then dipped into the clouds once again and flipped another airship and tossed it in their direction. However, instead of dodging it, Andrew went over and decided to take care of it for himself. With one punch, he shattered the battleship into two with such amazing power. The remains of the ship were then blasted by a ray of green energy that Andrew fired from his necklace. The source was the same kind of energy present in the Ruler Gemstone, and it turned all the parts of the ship into tiny debris. This surprised Metal Star, slightly.

"Hmm, you and your friends are strong, to be sure, but not as strong as _I've_ become! MY transformation guarantees me victory!"

"Huh," Star scoffed as she wasn't amused by Metal's aggrandizement. "You thought you could defeat me, by taking all the magical sources you could find and transform into a hideous monster! I've faced several monsters that were far worse than you by a long shot!"

The trio got through more Rainbow Bursts and mermaid seashells and powered right through them. Metal Star continued to deride and degrade them in the process.

"But that was in the past, with all your victories on other monsters, and from how you first defeated me, but now…your nothing but a speck of dust to me."

"More like a _gold _speck of butterfly dust to be precise," Star snickered. "That is much more valuable and much more accurate in the description."

"Metal's only obsessed with Star, as to be expected from being modeled after her," Andrew realized.

"Of course, after all, that's what she was programmed to do," the karate expert chuckled nervously. "Given the robot's goal of destruction that eventually manifests into hatred, it's quite amusing."

"Yeah, yeah, but let's not focus on that," Andrew groaned. "Let's focus on taking care of this monster, by smashing through more of her attacks and such."

"Oh, of course…"

They assisted Star in barreling through three more Rainbow Bursts. This was _enough_ to grant them their third team attack use.

"Ready to give it another go," Star motioned to the metal monstrous overlord in front of them. Marco and Andrew nodded as they were ready for this. They charged towards the monster with Star trailing behind them. Once again, they let loose all that they had simultaneously on Metal Star, inflicting some more pain on her. By now, she was starting to weaken, but she wouldn't let that stop her.

"No…my defeat shall not be at your hands…my defeat will not be at _anyone's_ hands!" Metal Star howled, sounding even more enraged than she was previously, and she was further from morality than ever before. She threw two more loose fleet ships towards them, only for Andrew to deflect them. Metal Star then unleashed a storm of mermaid seashells at them, which were taken care of by Marco when he tossed another ball of magical energy. Star also took care of one of them with her Super Rainbow Blast. But what was the biggest mistake made was when Metal Star fired some more Rainbow Bursts at them, which Star used as the perfect excuse of delivering yet another butt whooping.

"Let's go," Star yelled as she struck like lightning against Metal. Marco and Andrew followed suit as they joined in on the team attack against Metal Star. Marco even landed an attack on Metal's monstrous-looking face. The robotic monster elicited a howl that was so loud, that it irritated the ears of not just Team Star, but the rest of the heroes waiting down below for them on the flagship.

"Metal Star certainly is a piece of work," Marco trailed. "She certainly is one, for someone that was created by somebody who hasn't been adapted to creating robots before."

"Yes, I am…" Metal Star had saturated slowly, rising above the trio with a disgruntled air about him, as if they were inferior. "I was one of Ludo's only robots that he ever created, but once I lost to Star a couple of times without even trying, I had been labeled a defect and he scraped me and left me in that capsule…and Star herself, always striving to prove that she is better than me."

"Oh no," Star protested. "I don't like the thought of something being trying to be me as much as you do!"

"There you go, trying to put us on even ground! We are not on even ground! I am a better one! I _am_ the Star Butterfly!"

"And there you go with your false beliefs," Star countered. "You were a bugged out robot when I encountered you, and now it's caused you to turn into a tyrannical cretin!"

She released a surge of magical energy from her wand, with Marco and Andrew flying next to her, ready to attack if need be. Metal Star, however, sneered and hurled another warship at them.

"I was held back from my true purpose for a couple of months…I suppose I could fight the feeling of resisting going after you, over time…but when it's just too much to take, I'm sure you'd do what I did and sneak up from behind."

"Yeah, that was quite a dirty trick," Andrew retorted, punching right through the airship. "Disguising as Ludo just to draw attention to yourself…"

"And so she could copy all of our data," Marco added with a frown.

"Lots of good it's done to her hasn't it?"

The metallic monster didn't bother to leave a reply in return. Instead, she opted to launch several more seashells at the two of them. Marco acted fast and tossed two more balls of magical energy, completely demolishing them. Star then saw that Metal was about to unleash some fireballs and acid at the both of them, and got in the way of her robotic monstrous copy.

"You leave them alone," she scowled; ready to take the attacks if needed. "It's me that you said you were looking for, so why did you drag everyone else into this mess!? Wasn't getting rid of me, rebelling against Ludo, and taking over the universe good enough for you!? Why do more work than necessary?"

"Because your defeat wasn't _enough _for me," Metal Star bellowed in return. She continued to fire some more of her attacks, which Star deflected with her Super Rainbow Blasts. "Robots and monsters have nothing alike, and neither do humans, Mewman or anyone else! Can you blame me for being tired of taking failed orders from Ludo for 2 months straight, being defeated easily by the likes of you with no effort, for not having the strength to take you down at the time?! As of now, my strength is 10 times more powerful than it once was! I don't even understand why Upsilon decided to side with the likes of you, pests! It's disreputable!"

A Rainbow Burst was fired out of anger in retaliation, but Star easily overtook it herself.

"All those living beings that are vastly inferior compared to the likes of me will fall for opposing me! They'll be nothing but black marks on the floor!"

"Not if _we_ have anything to say about it," Star, Marco, and Andrew all said in unison. They charged up another team attack, ready to impose more damage on the metallic monster. "Here's another attack of what we have in store!"

They flew in to attack Metal once again, but this time she seemed more amused than worried. It's as if she was welcoming the attack.

"You can try to reach inside of me, you can try to drain my magical energy, but you'll never bring me down!"

"Okay, I just have to ask, but what makes you think we can't take you down," Star asked as she and her friends were soaring around the Metallic Overlord and landing attacks all over her. "I mean I've done it before, and that was by my lonesome."

"That was because I vastly glitched out," the overlord shouted. "And it's also for the same reason that makes you think you can!"

The monster was prepared to elaborate further, but a single strike to the head was what cut her off. The sounds of crunching metal were echoed throughout the area. Star, Marco, and Andrew just gasped and watch while Metal's head was thrust back, and the several shades of hatred on the robot's expression suddenly became vivid. He uprighted his head, with his eyes even more blazing red than they were before. A feeling of dread ended up washing over all of the heroes.

"I WILL **CRUSH **_**YOU!" **_

Metal Star thundered over to the team, flying down and knocked all three of them in one swoop. Before they could regain themselves, Metal's eyes began to glow brightly a dangerous red and she spread her arms out.

"MIRACLE LEVITATO!"

"Oh no," Marco yelped. "She copied that from Nebula!"

"She also could have copied that from me," Star winced.

"She copied a lot of things from you Star," Andrew coughed. "Aside from the obvious and such…"

"You guys have to be careful," Tom was heard from below.

"If you guys are stuck under Miracle Levitato for so long, you'll suddenly grow weaker and you'll have less time before you lose your super form!" Janna yelled that one.

"And you'll go down faster if you take damage!" Daron cried.

"You von't be able to make it," Buff Frog was heard yelping.

"B-Fly, you and your pals better be on guard!" Pony Head was heard hollering too.

"Marco, _please_ be careful," that was Jackie. "The same goes for you Star and Andrew!"

"What we are trying to say is that you'll be removed from your super form and you won't be able to defeat that Metallic Menace!" Nebula yelled.

"SAY WHAT," Star, Marco, and Andrew were heard yelling in unison. But they couldn't do anything to react to it, since Miracle Levitato had already taken effect, freezing them in time as Metal Star was relishing this moment.

"This could end badly," Archibald wailed.

"Affirmative," Upsilon added.

_"Oh no,"_ Jackie uttered in concern.

Metal Star was heard laughing maniacally as she was preparing a slew of attacks on the trio.

All that they could do is watch and see how this goes.

Before they knew it, they were hit by magic beams, karate swipes, swoops, ships, seashells, fireballs, acid, unicorn magic, and red laser beams. Just as their friends had warned, they were feeling weaker and had only a little bit of magic energy left in them. Once the Miracle Levitato finally wore off, Team Star felt just as miffed as Metal Star was previously.

"Ugh, she's got a lot of nerve," growled Andrew.

"Is…is _she_ invincible," Marco moaned as if he had a tummy ache, feeling weak and woozy.

"It's not over yet," Star barked. "I bet one more hit will do it! Come on guys, we just have enough magic energy in us left to charge up and strike before we get out of our super forms!"

"See me as I am, for I no longer fear anything," Metal Star boomed, sending out more seashells towards them. Marco once again launched some balls of magic energy that he created while Star felt the need to get cocky.

"Wow Metal Star, what you said implies that you were totally afraid of me before," Star smirked in a cocky sense.

"No it doesn't," hissed the metal menace, as she tossed another fleet ship towards her. "I've never had a reason to fear you."

"Not even after I delivered you a beating in a box with a bow on top?" Star quipped as Andrew got in front and smashed the ship himself before blasting it with more green energy from his necklace.

"Your childish mocking doesn't phase me, Star," Metal Star declared. "I shall become the ultimate overlord, ruling as the universe's Supreme Being! Begone now, and I won't blow you to pieces…just a smothering pile of ashes!"

"No thanks, giving up now leave a trail of a bad taste in my mouth and I just can't stand it," Star shook her head. "Perhaps I give you a brutal beating instead? It'll be quick, painless, and for the common good of all!"

"Now you're just stalling. _Die_, you lowlife copy of the original Star Butterfly," Metal Star bellowed, firing rainbow bursts at them. Star with her team plowed right through them, shattering through her offense and using it to charge up power.

"Why would I stall? I'm about to fall out of the sky after my super form wears off any minute now," Star continued. "If I were you, I'd continued to fire those Rainbow Bursts at me, so you can hurry the process."

"You've just sealed your fate," Metal Star growled darkly. "Be honored to fall at my behest!"

"Well, here we go," Star, Marco, and Andrew retorted in unison.

Metal Star fired some more of those Rainbow Bursts at them, falling right into the bait and allowing Team Star to deliver the final blow. It didn't take long for them to fully charge up again, but then again, they didn't have much longer in their super-powered state, so they had to make this quick, and make it count.

"Okay guys, this is _it_," Star told her teammates, grabbing both of their hands. "Let's show this Metallic Monster what we're made of."

"With the real power of teamwork," Andrew took a guess.

"Exactly Andrew," Star beamed.

"Well at least it's not the power of friends," Marco cringed as he said that. "I could picture a spinning rainbow."

"Hey, we can throw that in too, Marco; The Real Power of Spinning _Rainbow_ Teamwork!"

"_**NO!**_ I mean…no, no, just _teamwork_ suits us," Marco pled. "Besides, you already have a Rainbow Blast and a Rainbow Fist Punch, among others."

"Fair enough, now let's get ready." Star prepared them for the final attack.

All three of them rocketed towards the Metallic Overlord, ready to deliver the final blow.

"Now let's finish _this!_"

The trinity strike nearly paralyzed Metal Star with how devastating it was, combined with the wearing down that was done to Metal previously. The blow rattled Metal to the core, shaking her newly acquired parts loose and causing the other parts to simply just begin to implode.

"NOOOOO…Why?! I had it _**ALL**_," Metal screamed in agony, no longer able to function properly as she went careening out of the storm-filled sky, falling to uncertainty. "I am the ultimate overlord: Metal Star! I AM THE _REAL_ **STAR!" **

"Yahoo, we did it guys," Marco cheered, hardly able to contain his excitement.

"That was _wicked_ tough," Andrew panted, waving his hat into his face before putting it back on.

"And we did take her down and put her out of commission. It'll take a month worth to clear out some more bugs and glitches after the beating we delivered," Star smirked. "It's just too bad it's all over, though. I was starting to have fun!"

Team Star made their way back to the deck of the flagship, where the other heroes were located. They were heard hollering and cheering for how they took care of Metal Star. Jackie was even heard cheering for Marco in a way that she wouldn't normally. By then, their super forms were starting to wear off, but that was alright. The defeat of Metal Star resulted in the sky starting to clear up and now the future for the universe was brighter than ever before…

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER 24!**

**YEAH READERS, THIS IS JUST ABOUT CLOSE TO THE END OF THIS STORY! THERE'S THE EPILOGUE NEXT TIME, AND AFTER THAT, IT'S OVER!**

**YEAH, I DECIDED TO HAVE MARCO AND ANDREW BE GIVEN SUPER FORMS LIKE HOW STAR HAS ONE! I DECIDED TO BE CREATIVE WITH IT! DESPITE THIS BEING A CHAPTER FOCUSED ON THE FINAL BATTLE, THIS CHAPTER WASN'T TOO BAD! IT FOCUSED MORE ON TEAM STAR DEALING WITH METAL STAR IN HER FINAL TRANSFORMATION, SO THAT'S WHY THE OTHER HEROES DIDN'T HAVE A ROLE HERE! I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND!**

**ANYWAY, YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW FOR THIS CHAPTER IF YOU LIKE, AND JUST STAY TUNED FOR THE EPILOGUE NEXT TIME AROUND!**


	26. We're Star Heroes

**EPILOGUE-WE'RE STAR HEROES:**

* * *

Back on the flagship, Star, Marco, and Andrew had made their landing on the deck as they reverted to their original forms, as has Metal Star. The metallic copy of Star had lost all of the magic power that she had copied and stored inside of her memory bank, and she had turned back to her default appearance; as a robotic look-a-like of Star Butterfly.

"It's no use…" the metallic copy uttered her final words before falling face first. "Why can't I defeat you…?"

Star was ready to answer that question with Marco and Andrew on both sides of her.

"Well that's _simple_ Metal Star, the reason for that is because…we're _Star Heroes_." Star smirk with pride and dignity as Marco and Andrew had a similar expression, with the latter crossing his arms while doing so.

Metal Star didn't respond to that as she slowly started to shut herself down.

It was then the other heroes all stormed over to Team Star to congratulate them on how they saved the universe. The three of them appreciated the compliments as the Mewni princess got out her dimension scissors.

"Well, it was really nice of you guys for congratulating us on a heroic success," she spun her scissors. "But this is where I take my leave."

"Oh Star, can I travel with you for a bit before I have to head back home," Daron begged pleadingly.

"Of course you can Daron," Star gave her a warm smile as she was about to cut open a portal.

Before she did, however, she looked at Metal Star again. She seemed to feel sympathetic for the robot being programmed to go after her. Well, it was either that or the fact that battling her recently was just wicked fun. Regardless, she said these final words to the robot.

"Listen, Metal Star, anytime you want to have _another _rematch like that with me, just let me know," Star gave her a two-finger salute. "I'll be waiting…"

She then cut open a portal leading out of this dimension. Marco reached out his hand and called out to her.

"Hey wait a minute Star," he hollered. "I need to talk to _you_ about something."

"It can wait until _later_ Marco," Star insisted. "Right now, Daron and I have this appointment for traveling together like we should have done in the first place."

"Yeah," Daron cheered before turning to face Pony Head and Jackie. "Sorry to leave like this, girls, but Star and I are going to do a little traveling together before she brings me back home! I hope to see you, girls, again soon!"

"Good luck and have fun Daron gurl," Pony Head wished her a good time.

"Yeah dudette, we'll see ya later," Jackie spoke up.

After they waved farewell, Star and Daron entered the portal, which vanished once they entered. Marco tried to say something, but the portal was already gone, so he wasn't able to say anything.

"Well Jackie, it looks like I'll have to take my leave too," Pony Head got out her dimensional scissors. "You want me to give you a lift back home before I go back to my home, Jackie my friend?"

"That would be wonderful Pony Head," Jackie smiled. "Thanks for that."

They shared a collective laugh for a moment or so before Pony Head cut open a dimension portal. Jackie noticed that Marco was still there and decided to get his attention.

"Hey Marco, you coming or what?" She asked.

"Huh, what," he jumped and saw her and Pony Head about to leave.

"Come on dude, Pony Head is bringing me back to Earth," the skateboarder chick told him. "And you wouldn't think that I'd leave you here alone, did you?"

"Uh…no," he smiled.

"Well come on Marco, my main dude, let's go."

"Yeah Earth Dude, I'll bring you and Jackie back to your dimension before returning to mine." The floating unicorn head offered.

"Oh, that would be wonderful," the Latino karate expert approached them as Jackie grabbed his hands.

"By the way dude, I _loved_ your super form," she flirted playfully. "You showed off your_ pecks_ and I got to see you shirtless."

This got Marco to blush bright red, but it was the kiss on the cheek she gave that made him go as red as his hoodie.

"Uh…T-Thank for that Jackie," Marco blubbered.

"Anytime dude," she winked at him. "Now let's go. The two of us are going to chill together and feed each other pizza nuggets as my treat, and share another kiss on the mouth."

"I would love that Jackie," he smiled. "Let's do it."

"As you wish Marco Ubaldo Diaz; my favorite safety kid."

"I couldn't ask for anything better Jackie Lynn Thomas, my favorite skateboarder chick."

As they shared a giggle, both of them along with Pony Head entered the portal, which then vanished immediately after they entered it.

Andrew just smirked and crossed his hands as Star and Marco went their separate ways. At the same time, he was relieved that this whole adventure has been settled once and for all.

"Well, Star has her hands full," he remarked. "And so does Marco and his favorite skateboarding chick lady."

"I'll say,_ Andy_," that was Janna, who gave him a suggestive look before passing by him. "Anyway, I guess I'm out of here too. I might go after an artifact elsewhere. Hmmm… perhaps I'll go to certain _someone_'s floating island where I'll make off with _his_ Ruler Gemstone."

It was clear that the nightmare loving Filipino was teasing the treasure hunter as she got out her dimensional scissors and cut open a portal. Andrew heard that and shook his head.

"Well, she never gives up, does she," he then saw Janna beginning to enter the portal. "Oh no you don't, wait a minute!"

Janna saw him coming for her portal and smirked; as if she was expecting him to follow after her. She then went into the portal with Andrew trailing right behind her. Once they entered the portal, it vanished as they were gone too.

Nearby, the Demonstrix watch as Janna and Andrew entered their portal, and they felt that they've done their job for this task, so they were planning on taking their leave too.

"Vell comrades, that just about vraps up this case," Buff Frog said while crossing his arms.

"Yeah, I guess your right," Tom remarked. "So I guess we can take our leave too."

"But what about the money that we were promised to get since we did our job," Archibald reminded them.

Truth be told, Buff Frog didn't care much about the money, but that_ did_ remind him of _someone_ else that they had a bone to pick with.

"Vow Archibald, that reminds me," he snapped his fingers. "I almost forgot about something…"

Tom overheard someone trying to sneak off on them, and that person, in particular, was none other than Ludo. He was trying to tiptoe away from the scene in hopes of getting out of this dimension undetected. He was gravely mistaken when the Demonstrix turned around and saw him sneaking off.

**"THAT **_**SLIMEBALL!" **_Buff Frog roared.

With a yelp, Ludo frantically ran and got out his dimensional scissors as the Demonstrix were hot on his tail. He then let out a whistle.

"EAGLE, SPIDER, LET'S GO," he yelled, cutting open a portal. "WE ARE GETTING OUT OF THIS DIMENSION!"

With two screeches, the eagle and the giant spider stormed over just as the portal was opened. Ludo entered the portal along with the eagle and the giant spider. The Demonstrix were quick enough to get through the portal before it closed up. Once they had entered the portal, it vanished.

L-020 Upsilon would have made chase after Ludo too, but something else was on his processor; the fiend whom they had chased after all over the place just to get revenge and answers, only for it to be the wrong person and were left with nothing. As he scooped up Metal Star's motionless body, he was struggling with what to do next.

Nebula Dragonfly, the last of the heroes along with Upsilon, walked over to him, noticing Metal Star draped in the fellow robot's arms.

"Well Upsilon, you got one of Ludo's minions in your hands," Nebula started, not taking her sight off of the metal copy. "What are you going to do now?"

"Part of my internal processor says to destroy this menace as we speak, preferably by tossing her violently off of the edge of this grounded aircraft," Upsilon exclaimed. "However, despite this…for some reason, said internal processor cannot force out a complete action. Perhaps you can say that I'm hesitant and reluctant."

"Or perhaps you just can't make up your mind," Nebula shrugged. "I can understand why you don't want to destroy her…maybe…"

"And what may the explanation be for my malfunction, if I may ask?"

Nebula sighed as she turned away from Metal Star and looked up at the clearing sky. "You know when we found that Nebula Android back in the canyon dimension, right? If…if there are more of those, I'm not sure if I could destroy them, because…it might be like destroying myself, and not because it looks like me either. But it's also because of what if…I'm an android too…"

"I can comprehend this, but as I had told Janna, the original must exist elsewhere for those androids to be created by using the original Nebula," Upsilon shrugged.

"You know what I mean," Nebula groaned.

"Anyway, back to my main point," Upsilon continued. "I am one of Ludo's only robots ever created, and I was created to be the ultimate fighting robot and killing machine, and the same could be said with Metal Star…Even though I'm a former minion of Ludo's, would I be able to destroy myself…?"

"Honestly, if I were you, I wouldn't destroy yourself indefinitely," Nebula insisted as she walked away. "In fact, I would highly suggest that you deactivate yourself, so that you would awaken in the future where Ludo's monsters and minions are gone and that Avarian _doesn't_ have plans for universal conquest. By doing so, you could use your special abilities to help others, whether they are from Earth, Mewni, or whatever other dimensions may exist in the universe."

"I will analyze my actions at a later time, but I will consider the proposition when I'm ready for it," Upsilon replied. "So what is your next course of action, Comrade Nebula?"

"I'm going to find out who I am," Nebula proclaimed, getting her wand out. "I know I had woken in Ludo's castle, and he was the one who imprisoned me there, but there must be more ways to get answers out there. Perhaps, our paths will cross again one day, after you decide on what to do with Metal Star, and after Janna has done her own things, and maybe…just maybe, I might find my place in this messed-up universe…"

"Perfectly understandable objective," Upsilon responded. "I sure do wish you the best amount of success with discovering who you truly are."

"Same here," Nebula nodded. "Perhaps I might also find out some more answers from that Star Butterfly and her pals that traveled with her, along with everyone else that was dragged into this mess, so until we meet again, I bid you farewell Upsilon…my friend."

"Pleasure doing teamwork with you as well Nebula, my comrade," Upsilon returned the gesture.

Nebula only nodded as she readied her wand, hoping that this technique would work just like it did in the first vision she had.

"Miracle Levitato," she uttered as the wand started flashing and warped her away. Just like that, Nebula teleported out of that dimension and was no longer there.

Upsilon was the only remaining hero there since everyone else left. Feeling that his duty in this flagship has been accomplished, Upsilon decided to take his leave too since there was no other reason for him to stick around. Carrying the deactivated Metal Star in his right hand, the killer robot turned his left hand into a pair of dimensional scissors that he hadn't had to use up until this point. He then cut open a dimension portal and then walked right into it with Metal Star clutching in his arms. Once he entered the portal, it vanished as he was the last to have left. Yes, all twelve heroes were gone didn't leave a trace of themselves behind, as they went back to their homes or own business after having been on a three-day adventure…

* * *

**BACK IN ECHO CREEKS – ON EARTH:**

It turns out that Janna was not after Andrew's Ruler Gemstone after all but instead baited him into a trap that she lured him into. The place that she brought him to was her house, which she got him into her bedroom and settled business with him. Throughout that instance, she gave him all the hugs and kisses that she owed him from the 'affectionate' letters that she sent him upon pranking him. This took place around night time, the same time Marco and Jackie were hanging out and feeding each other pizza nuggets. In addition to that, Janna also told Andrew that she'll get 'hanky panky' with him if he wants her to, but he flat out said 'no', saying that he'll have none of that. Despite this, Janna kept Andrew in possession while consecutively teasing him, placing her hand into his shirt and getting him spooked out where he'd squeal. Even though Andrew did not like being treated like this, he decided to tolerate it since she wouldn't stop unless she got it out of her system.

By the next morning, Andrew was finally able to go as Janna hollered out to him that she hopes to see him again soon while calling him Andy, something Andrew gritted his teeth while blushing a fluid red on his cheeks.

Now Janna left behind some kiss marks that he wiped off, as well as what might be a bite mark that she wanted to leave like a vampire, and that bite mark would humiliate Andrew to no end, but he decided to brush that off. Rather than head back to his home dimension and his island back to the Ruler Gemstone, Andrew decided to stroll in the Echo Creek Park for a bit before departing.

While he was strolling, he ended up coming across Marco, who had just recently left Jackie's house a while ago too. Feeling that he needed some company from someone who _wouldn't_ try to bite his neck off, Andrew decided on settling with Marco.

With Marco, he had spent a wonderful night last night with Jackie, and it was beautiful. In addition to feeding each other pizza nuggets, they also hung out, watched TV, and also looked out to the stars on the back porch. The memory was heavenly, to say the least as he got some time in with Jackie, even though he wondered where Star went off to. He remembered the one conversation that he had with her while they were lying back outside.

"_You know Marco; this has been quite a journey we've been on," Jackie remarked._

"_Yeah, it's been the craziest 3 days in my life," Marco chuckled._

"_Same with me," she laughed. "I never thought that I'd go on an adventure while fighting monsters and then encountering a robot copy of Star that identified herself as Ludo whom we've been chasing all this time."_

"_I never thought that would happen either," he proclaimed. "It was great to see you on this journey, and it was great that I got to hang out with Star again after 5 months."_

"_I agree," Jackie smirked. "It was great to see Star again too, and I was happy that we went on a similar journey."_

"_Uh-huh," Marco stretched his arms. _

"_You know Marco, this journey has brought **us** closer together," Jackie said daringly. "I got to see new dimensions, I've learned of new people that were traveling too, and I got to know more about Daron and Pony Head."_

"_Yeah, they are quite a handful," Marco admitted. "But this has been great."_

"_Tell me about it," Jackie sighed. _

"_And your right, this trip did bring us closer together," the Latino confessed. "I mean I got to learn about your mermaid heritage, your seashell necklace is a magical family heirloom, and we have shaken off any doubts that could be lingering around between **us**."_

"_You said it, Marco Diaz," Jackie cackled before elbowing him playfully. "But now that the adventure has come to a close, how about giving me a goodnight kiss?"_

"_Oh uh…s-sure Jackie," Marco stuttered cutely._

_And so they gave one last kiss on the mouth as they enjoyed the moment and how this quest got them closer together._

Marco sighed happily at that memory before he then heard Andrew calling out to him. He then turned to face him before responding back.

"Oh, hey Andrew," the treasure hunter joined the karate expert as they started to walk in the park.

"Marco, what are you doing here by yourself," he asked. "I thought you were celebrating with Jackie."

"I _was_, but I had left some time ago," Marco admitted. "I was thinking about heading home."

"Yeah, I'm thinking of heading home to my dimension too after taking a stroll in this park," Andrew admitted. "Janna is definitely one crazy girl. Not to Star's extent, but she's definitely crazy."

"No kidding," the Latino karate master nodded as he then saw a bite mark on Andrew's neck. "Whoa, did…did Janna give you a _hickey_ on your neck?"

"Worse, she actually tried to bite at and gnaw my neck like a vampire," Andrew groaned. "This is what came as a result."

"Jeez, I'm surprised that you managed to put up with her," Marco shuddered. "If I was you I would have cut and run before she got to that point."

"I can tell, but I decided to tolerate her for what it's worth," Andrew sighed as they continued to walk.

Both of them were silent for a few moments or so when Marco decided to ask Andrew.

"Andrew, remember what you said back around the same time we started this adventure," he questioned. "What if Star really did disappear for another five months, and went to start a new adventure already?"

Andrew knew what he was talking about and sighed. "Alright look, I was only being hypothetical, meaning there's a chance that she might have run off, but then there's the chance that she didn't. You get what I'm saying?"

"I suppose so," the karate master laughed softly. "And my point is that I'm not bothered by Star being gone for a while, but the latest adventure was just a lot of fun, and my concern is that it might take another five months for Star to return and bring us onto another adventure."

"Don't be so sure about that," Andrew insisted. "Star seemed pretty happy when she left through that portal with Daron. We'll get another chance. Besides, Nebula has apparently come back from the dead, which I'm sure Star will help in getting her memory back; not to mention Ludo might still be _good _in spite of Metal Star's interference and Janna seems to no longer be interested in my Ruler Gemstone, if the bite mark on my neck is an indication. So I may not have to guard the gemstone as much anymore, and I can come to Earth or Mewni to visit you and Star sometime."

Marco only nodded as Andrew continued.

"And the best part about this is that we've got to interact with the other teams, and they seemed to have enjoyed it too," he brought up. "If another instance like this comes up, the other teams will be glad to help, except maybe Nebula and possibly Upsilon, but that depends on what _they_ think. In other words, this quest has brought _all _of us closer together."

"Ha, you know, funny you mention that," Marco felt like sharing. "Jackie told me last night how this quest brought us closer together, and I think she's right."

"Exactly," Andrew grinned. "And believe me, adventures won't be the same without Star, but that doesn't mean we can't ever encounter her."

"You got me there," he said. "Star is able to travel through dimensions just by the use of the dimensional scissors."

Just as he said that a dimension portal emerged right from behind and coming from this portal was Star herself. She had dropped off Daron at her house quite some time ago and she had just arrived to interact with the two people that traveled with her for the past 3 days or so. She then flew out and then Marco and Andrew felt someone grab their hands and fly them over to the entrance of the park, where she released them shortly afterwards.

Like that hasn't happened to them before. Both of them saw Star as she gave them a grin.

"Hey guys, why the _long_ faces," she asked them. "We just got done with defeating the bad guy behind this plot in three days, and today's looking like a beautiful one."

"Sure is Star," Andrew heckled. "Marco and I were just chatting about how this journey has brought us closer together and the other teams seem to have enjoyed the experience too."

"Dang right we have Andrew," Star gleamed. "I've never had so much fun with taking Daron with me to another dimension, Pony Head seemed ecstatic, and the Demonstrix seemed to have enjoyed it too. Even though I haven't seen Nebula, I hope that she enjoyed this journey too!"

"Yeah, Janna seemed to have enjoyed it. She almost bit off my neck," Andrew pointed to the mark on his neck.

"Wow Andrew, that's _big_," Star was ecstatic as she teased. "She must've wanted to leave her _territorial markings_ on your neck."

"I know," Andrew deadpanned.

"Jackie seemed to have enjoyed this adventure too," Marco quipped. "Considering that she had never been on an adventure quite like this one."

"I know, and I'm glad she was able to explore several dimensions," Star glistened. "If there's something good that Metal Star did to us, it's that she allowed the twelve of us to grow closer to each other."

"Yeah," Marco and Andrew claimed honestly.

"Well you two, let's get going," Star motioned them to follow her.

After exchanging glances towards each other, Marco and Andrew nodded before they followed the princess of Mewni.

Star smiled at her comrades who were right beside her.

"Alright you two, our next adventure await us at any moment, so there's no time to waste," Star informed them.

Fortunately, they settled on Marco's house for the moment before they split and went their separate ways.

"Yahoo, we're _Star Heroes_." Star cheered as did her partners.

And they couldn't have it any other way…

**THE END!**

**AND THAT JUST ABOUT BRINGS THIS STORY TO AN END! I DO HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED IT, EVERYONE!**

**NOW I SHOULD SAY THIS THAT THIS STORY ISN'T MEANT FOR EVERYONE, BUT THIS IS A STORY THAT I WANTED TO DO AND I HAD FUN WRITING IT IN THE PROCESS! DESPITE THE LENGTHY CHAPTERS, THIS STORY WAS PRETTY EXCITING TO WRITE!**

**NOW I AM NOT SURE WHEN I'LL BE WRITING ANOTHER STORY FOR THIS SERIES AGAIN! EVEN IF I DO, IT MIGHT TAKE A WHILE TO BEGIN WRITING IT! BUT WHEN I DO, I DO HOPE THAT YOU'LL LOOK FORWARD TO IT WHEN I DO WRITE SOMETHING!**

**NOW IF YOU LIKE, YOU CAN LEAVE A REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THE STORY OVERALL!**

**OTHERWISE, THAT'S ALL I HAVE, SO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES READERS, AND FAREWELL!**


End file.
